


Point of Two

by Ms Tea Cup (MsTeaCup)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Awkward First Times, Boyish Couple, Cute, Fluff, Lime, M/M, Multi POV, Prideshipping, School Life, Semi AU, Semi drabble, where card games has nothing to do with saving the world or dying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-17 23:12:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 94,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13087434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsTeaCup/pseuds/Ms%20Tea%20Cup
Summary: One wouldn't expect either Kaiba or the older Mutou to act like a lovesick puppy. But both kind of do, to one another. The people who surround and adore them are keenly observing. Prideshipping.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. As this is a semi AU, the story will not 100% follow the original manga or anime, however it will still hold hold vague references.
> 
> 2\. This story is a semi drabble. I wrote this for pure entertainment purposes so do not expect clear structure or a solid plot. Each chapter is from the same universe, however the manner of its delivery would most likely be non-linear (not abiding to a straight timeline or flow). This story will also involve the play of different perspectives and pov, so do not expect a clear guidelines of what is going on.
> 
> 3\. A reminder, the author is not a native English speaker. However, I am open to inputs and critics to my mistakes. Still, be mindful that errors and strange uses of words might happen, a lot.
> 
> 4\. Enjoy!

KAIBA'S ORDER

* * *

 

When Seto asked Yami out, he actually kissed the latter before shooting the question – in fact, it was more of an order than an endearing request. "Let's date," he uttered simply and hovered just a breath away from Yami's lips. Their eyes connected, in which Yami seek behind Kaiba's stare for explanations and Kaiba tries to remember every details of those intelligent orbs.

"Date?" Yami responded finally with croaked voice as though only just finding his voice after being pecked out of the blue. They were sitting at the school's rooftop; a habbit they shared out of coincidence. It was a coincidence at first, at least – back when Kaiba thought the place he used to steal a smoke at school was his alone and when Yami thought he's the only one who'd go to the rooftop to be alone.

After a while, it became weird to be at the rooftop without the other and thus the last 15 minutes of lunch break became their secret rendezvous. Not surprisingly, they enjoyed each other's company without the Yuugi-tachi around. Both enjoys the challenge and the companionship the other provides.

Two months into the start of their constant meet up - Kaiba decided he wants Yami for himself– and he knew Yami should want him in return. He could see the gravitation in Yami's eyes; the attraction that didn't fail to present itself everytime Kaiba was around.

Kaiba grasped the other's chin and kissed Yami for the second time. There was no resistance given, which made Kaiba's heart soar with gloatful pride, before the inevitable collision.

This was meant to be, Kaiba thought; it took him a while to recognize his own feeling toward the shorter male, but deep down Kaiba had always known. He gave the other guy a more heated kiss this time; all the while keeping it slow and sensuous. Yami let him; because surely he'd know not to deny what was sure to come.

Yami let out a soft noise before Kaiba let him go with a smacking sound. When Kaiba laid his eyes on the other, Yami was slightly leaning toward him as they sat shoulder to shoulder, eyes half-lidded as though the kiss hypnotizes him.

"You're my lover now," Kaiba announced softly as he smirked down to Yami; keeping their faces close still and his fingers under Yami's chin. There was a slight rebellion under Yami's gaze from having Kaiba deciding for him. While Kaiba adores the many moments Yami challenged him with that look, he was sorry to say that look has no place here and now. They both knew this was coming. It was futile to resist.

As if having the same thought, Yami closed his eyes and leaned closer to Kaiba. He was half-turned toward Kaiba till his chest touched the arm Kaiba uses to prop himself to the ground. "You tasted like cigarette," Yami murmured.

"And you like it," Kaiba said pompously before dipping for another kiss. This time, they admitted to theirselves that they were glad; in Yami's case, that Kaiba had asked, and in Kaiba's case, that Yami smoothly agreed. Gone were the confident and mature masks; right then they were a couple of fools under the influence of puppy love.

When they returned to class, no words were exchanged between them as usual. No one suspected a thing. Kaiba barely finished half of his cancer stick that day (though he would have finished at least a cigarette if it was another day) and Yami had yet to make a ramble about life that was worth a 10 page essay (he usually speaks poetically the time he stepped on the rooftop). The only one who would notice a thing would be Yugi, who caught Yami writing a love poem in his room.

"Yami's writing love poems," Yugi told Tea when the girl called him that night.

"… Yami? Poems?" She sounded surprised that someone with such a bad boy persona could do poetry, "Huh, who would've thought".

"No, that's not the surprise. Yami has always been… cheesy, you know?" The whole house knew the other boy has a very sentimental soul. He even admitted to hearing a soar of Disney songs when he won a major duel tournament last year. "But now it's love poems, get it?"

"Huh..."

"Usually he writes about life and death and…"

"Oh my Gosh…"

* * *

 

**TBC.**


	2. Yugi's Insight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. This chapter takes place before the Kaiba asked Yami out

YUGI'S INSIGHT

* * *

 

Yugi isn't Yami's little brother for just the looks (or, specifically, the hair). They may not have the same personality, but their problem solving skills are almost on par. The only reason Yugi has yet to make a name of himself in official duels was because he had yet to reach the minimum age of participation. The younger also does not believe in winning as an absolute goal. He believes in something beyond victory; that a game serves other purposes beside winning. Joey once said he could see Yugi deliberately losing a game if it could help someone's life. Yugi had yet to refute that point.

Yami, of course, has the same sentiment about victory as his brother – or at least he does when he's not dueling. Yami is the more ambitious one of the two. He is goal-oriented and more pragmatic. When he's dueling, he'd be far too fueled to seek anything else but overcoming the challenge, and thus, winning. While this made Yami the renowned duelist he is now, this also made Yami ignorant and thickheaded at times, in Yugi's opinion.

Yami was straight-sighted. When he has his eyes on something, he'll focus on that goal to the point he blurs everything else. It didn't mean he couldn't notice them, he just opted to ignore them. There's nothing but the cards in his mind – which was probably the sole reason for the lack of romance in his life.

Even someone like Yugi; meek and introverted Yugi; scored someone like Tea. And she was the one who confessed first.

So Yugi knew that time Yami smiled to his phone and started tapping on it furiously. "What's up?" Yugi asked from the kitchen island, where he and Tea currently enoyed a cup of hot chocolate.

"I'm skipping the movie night," Yami announced, eyes still latched to his phone, "Kaiba asked to meet up".

"Really?" Yugi sent Tea a meaningful look. The cheerleader rolled her eyes. They've planned this movie night for a week, and Yami was going to cancel that because Kaiba asked to meet at the last minute.

"You sure you're going? It's raining hard outside," Yugi reminded.

Yami was gulping his chocolate hurriedly. "He's sending me a ride there – wait, is he though? Let me ask him again," the guy said hurriedly as he walked to the sink and put his cup there. "He is - let me change my shirt," he said finally before going to his room.

Yugi and Tea shared another knowing look.

It has been going on for two weeks; Kaiba asking to meet Yami at random times that is. The great heir of the prestigious Kaiba family had finally noticed Yami at school after Yami defeat him in an official tournament last month. Before that, he barely found any value in the small town he just transferred to. The heir was unhappily transferred from Tokyo to Domino for an unknown reason – Yugi suspected he was sent to prepare a branch of Kaiba Corps.

Yugi wasn't surprised that the two got along. He knows Yami, Yami prefers a bit of challenge. Kaiba provides that challenge. Of course, the relationship consist of pushing each other's buttons everytime. But Yugi _knew_ these meetups were more than what it seems. Because Yugi, unlike Yami, sees these things.

Because it was weird for Yami to skip a planned meeting for a last minute call to an appointment, it was also weird for the supposed ice block that is Kaiba, to send his personal chauffeur to pick up someone, get a meal prepared for two, on a Saturday night. All those, simply for a duel.

At least, Yami was the one who insisted the invitations was merely for a duel. Because he is Yami; he has his eyes set on the game; even though the smile he has on his face everytime Kaiba texted him said otherwise.

"He knew," Tea shrugged as she sipped her drink, "Yami, I mean. He knows what's going on, I think. Deep down at least. But he refuses to admit it".

Yugi made a face. Of course Yami _knew;_ the guy was very sharp after all. He opted to ignore the cues for something else he's more accustomed to. Kaiba, however, seemed to have a better grasp of the situation; but being the no-bullshit guy he was, he'd most likely drop the bomb out of the blue toward Yami.

"I blame his lack of love life on you," Tea said. Yugi blanched, "Hey! Where am I in all this?"

"He's too focused on you when he doesn't have his head on the cards. He has a case of brother complex, your brother," she noted. Yuugi grimaced in agreement. Then she put her cup down, propped her chin on her fist and leaned forward to Yugi as she gazed at him dreamily, "Thankfully you're not as dim-witted".

A chummy smile grew on Yugi's face. They were having a moment, as weird as it was to imagine Yugi with a cheerleader girlfriend. The moment could be something else now that they were left alone in the kitchen. Too bad Joey and Tristan made their entrance at that exact moment; their loud voice instantly killed whatever mood was present previously.

"Whew, dat back there 's crazy I'm tellin' ya!" Joey exclaimed. He was drenched from hair to toe, but not as drenched as he should be if he really was biking under this heavy rain. Yugi's brows met.

"Did you really bike all the way here?"

Tristan, who was in the middle of squeezing his jacket to the sink, turned with a amile, "No, you see –"

"Hello!"

The cheerful voice of Mokuba greeted them from the door. The boy stood next to Tanaka – the man Yugi recognized to be Kaiba's chauffeur. Tanaka held a wet umbrella in hand and stood by the entrance as Mokuba invited himself inside. "Is it okay if I join you guys for tonight? My brother told me I could have a sleepover," the boy looked hopeful.

Of course Kaiba would rid of his brother while he spend his Saturday night with Yami. "Sure, Mokuba, make yourself at home. Thanks for giving Tristan and Joey a ride".

The boy seemed excited, body practically jumping as he scurried around the house looking for the next cool thing. "No problem! 'Sides, brother sent the car here for Yami anyway. Oh, you have pizzas! Awesome! What are we watching?"

Mokuba rambled on as Tea took two towels from the duvet while scolding Joey and Tristan for spilling water all over the place. Yugi glimpsed upstairs only seconds before Yami pranced down with a bag in hand.

"Oh, the ride is here," Yami acknowledged hurriedly as he wore his watch.

"You sure you're skipping the pizza?" Yugi asked.

"I'll eat once I got there. There's this new prototype for the duel disk I gotta check out," Yami was already making his way to Tanaka, "C'mon Tanaka. Bye guys!"

They were left stunned in silence after Tanaka opened the umbrella for Yami and closed the door behind him. Joey glanced at Yugi stiffly, "Don'cha tell me…"

"They're just dueling," Yugi smiled meaningfully.

Later on by midnight, Yugi sluggishly pick up a phone call in the middle of a B rated horror flick. He hushed Joey and Tristan's banter of who was going to be murdered next by the serial killer before greeting the person at the other end of the call. "Yami?"

"Still up?"

"Yeaah, we'll keep on going until we couldn't stay awake anymore. When are you coming home?"

_"Yeah, about that,_ I'm _staying over_ at _Kaiba's. He took_ _me to the main office at Tokyo to test the new prototype"._

"Wait, you're in Tokyo?" It should've taken hours long ride from Domino to Tokyo.

_"Yup._ _I'll be back by morning. Say hello to the rest of the guys for me. Bye"._

Yugi blinked stupidly after he heard the call was ended. He turned to the slouched form of Mokuba on the floor. "Is it possible for your brother to drive Yami all the way to Tokyo at night?"

Mokuba didn't seem surprised. "They flew," he answered like it was obvious. When everyone gave him a look, the boy added with a shrug, "He has a chopper".

And this all happened well before Yuugi even caught Yami writing love poems in his math homework.

* * *

 

**TBC.**


	3. The Counsellor's Peek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. This chapter is slightly longer. Pardon any mistakes made here

THE COUNSELLOR'S PEEK

* * *

 

To the teachers of Domino High, Seto Kaiba would always be a source of self-doubt and a sense of inadequacy. It was maybe from the way he sat on the chair across from the polished desk of the school's counsellor, or the way he nodded in disinterest – everything he did – that made him seem like a capable adult. That in itself was a bit disconcerting.

Ms. Maya Suzuki shifted in her seat as she took the papers from her drawer. As the counsellor, she needs to review the students' goals and academic career. Seto Kaiba had just transferred to Domino two weeks before - straight from the most prestigious school in Tokyo to the humble Domino High - and she needed to gather about the kinds of extracurricular activities he planned to join.

"However, I can understand if you didn't plan to join any," Ms. Suzuki informed, "The school is willing to take your schedule into consideration".

His hand stopped in the middle of writing his name onto the form given by the counsellor. Seto Kaiba lifted his head and landed his steely blue gaze on the older woman. "And why is that?"

The counsellor tried her best to smile encouragingly. This man sitting across from her couldn't be a 16 year old. He seemed too mature to be one. "We understand that you… have your hands full with your family business?"

And here Seto Kaiba's head slightly turned down and his eyes hardened. His grip on the pen also tightened till his knuckles turned white. "I don't. Not anymore," he answered in a way that told the counsellor not to probe.

"I see," Ms. Suzuki responded instead. Inside, she wondered what changed. Wasn't this the child that made headline news a couple of years ago for making a groundbreaking innovation in a game company his family owned? As a working adult, she didn't pay attention to the hype people around the world were having on a game – however, she knew of the Seto Kaiba that was said to be a prodigy and the attention people gave to his achievements.

Surely, his family didn't transfer him to a small town like Domino for nothing? In fact, half of Domino is convinced his presence meant that Kaiba Corp has an interest to build a branch company in town. If that not happens to be the case, then a lot of people would be disappointed.

"If you haven't figured out what extracurricular activity to join, I don't mind giving you more time," Ms. Suzuki informed when the teen read the list of clubs at the school, "You can take your time, Mr. Kaiba. Look around and explore. Most of them you could find at the west wing of the school, however some of them hold their activities outdoor. You can come to my office anytime if you have any question".

The young man's face returned to its smooth indifferent state. He left the room after giving a respectful bow; leaving Ms. Suzuki to wander if the school was capable of providing him with anything.

* * *

 

The next time she had Seto Kaiba in her office was three weeks after the last. It was for the permit he requested to leave school for a two weeks duel monster tournament in Tokyo.

Ms. Suzuki arched an eyebrow at that name; duel monster. She remembered it as a card game that has been around since she was a child. It was hard to believe at first that a student like Seto Kaiba could have an affinity toward such a game. After all, Seto Kaiba had proven to be such a model student. He did very well in class, even showing potentials beyond his age. He also appeared to be very serious, perfectionistic, and mature. In conclusion, he didn't seem to be the type to be interested in such games.

However, he did.

The counsellor had done a research online on Seto Kaiba out of curiosity. It turned out that the groundbreaking innovation Kaiba did when he was thirteen was the design for an advanced platform used to play duel monster today. He started making the design when he was twelve and posted it on a kickstarter website when he was thirteen. It gained so much attention that a senior software designer on Kaiba Corp, the company owned by Kaiba's own family, donated 20,000 US dollars on the project.

After that, it was discovered that the design was made by the twelve year old heir of the Kaiba Corp. The project became so blown up that Kaiba Corp finally decided to buy it and make it come true. The boy was given a big role in the project for he served as the icon that popularize the game again after its long dormant present in the ever dynamic gaming scene. He was present in all meetings, major development period, and in its major promotion event. You could see him mingling with important people in the industry as if he was never a child, but actually an adult in disguise.

The game reemerged not only as everyone's hobby, but also a high-paying profession. With it, also came a rising number of teenagers dreaming to be a professional duelers.

Ms. Suzuki eyed Kaiba's leave request curiously. After the research, she found the young man actually ranked first in duel monster world ranking. He had established his dueling career more than a year ago and flourished. He was even first to ever compete under the minimum age limitation in honor to his contribution to the game's current popularity.

The counsellor was still skeptical at the idea of playing a game as a professiin. But this is the Seto Kaiba; he had proven more than just succeed in the career path. So Ms. Suzuki decided to hand the permit letter - already signed by herself and the principal – with a smile.

"We're proud to have a talented student as yourself in this school. Of course we wished you luck in your game," she told the teen warmly. The young man stood facing her desk with a toneless look. He eyed the permit letter, took it, and bowed his thanks. Despite his detached personality, Ms. Suzuki couldn't help but adore the young man – such a well-mannered and talented youth. His handsome appearance and neat look made him a favorite even among the teachers. It's quite hard to deny him anything at this point when he impressed them that much.

After his departure, Ms. Suzuki was left with the feeling that Mr. Kaiba was able to do well in school after all. The whole school was worried he'd send his influential family against them on every single mistake. He turned out to be a good student though.

It was then that another staff brought her a letter. It was another two weeks leave request.

From Yami Mutou.

* * *

 

The Mutou brothers were known throughout Domino as quite a distinguishable pair. Fact is, they were half Egyptian and this was made prominent in their exotic features. It was rather nice to look at, actually. Ms. Suzuki remembered the day Yami Mutou, the older brother, arrived in Domino High and everyone couldn't help but ask who he is.

Specifically for the older Mutou, there's always a wild spark in him – and most people expected him to be a trouble student. But he turned to be another of the school staff's favorite instead. The teen was among the ten highest scorers in every exam and was a prominent member in the student council. He was well-liked among his peers, especially popular among his underclassmen, and was known to be an inspiring leader-type everywhere he went.

Despite all that, he was nowhere near Seto Kaiba's record. Thus, the counsellor inspected Yami's request with skepticism.

The teen was aiming to participate in the same tournament as Seto Kaiba yet Ms. Suzuki had no knowledge if the prior had a known record with duel monster. It was exactly that question which the counsellor asked the minute the older Mutou arrived in her office.

"It's my debut in an official tournament, actually," he admitted, "But I've been dueling my whole life with friends".

That didn't convince her. Not that he doubt Yami Mutou. The teen was very intelligent and he was known to surprise people with a side of his that was mature and insightful. Both Mutou's youngsters had always have a spark in their eyes that said they were meant for something more. However, as a counsellor, she has to consider a lot of things before granting a student with a two weeks absence.

This case was different to Seto Kaiba, who not only seem like he was beyond his peers, but also proven it. Yami Mutou didn't make a worldwide name for himself nor had he ever made a groundbreaking accomplishment.

"Mam, please. You know me when I play chess. Trust me, I'm way more vicious in dueling that I will ever be in chess. I'll prove to you". He had that look; the fierce stare. It was a signature look known to be the older Mutou's. He could be quite a bold presence once determined.

Ms. Suzuki sighed and looked down to Mutou's request letter. The teen was the strongest player in the school's chess club. She had seen him play; boy was he a scary opponent. "How would you afford going to the tournament? It would cost you quite a sum unless you're honored with an official invitation for recognized duelers," she asked. Mutou answered with a smile.

"I've saved enough money, Ms. Suzuki, you don't need to worry".

'It's your future I'm worried about. You're the last person I expected to pay that much for a card game from my childhood,' the counsellor thought.

"Mam, you know I am serious about my study and my responsibilities. I've always been. And this is one of my greatest passion. I promise you, I'm not playing with my decisions. I beg you for your trust and I won't disappoint".

She knew this was coming. She knew her resolve will break sooner or later. Yami Mutou was known to be such a speaker. "Fine," she admitted defeat, "But only because I trust you for your reputation. If it's that Wheeler from class 2-D asking for this, I wouldn't be as compliant".

She signed the letter and told the teen that she'd gave it to the principal as soon as she can. She told herself that it would be best for Mutou to learn from experience that duel monster, at the point it was now, was a game for the rich and talented; definitely not for a small towner like a youngster from Domino.

Before leaving the counsellor's office, Mutou sent her his beautiful confident grin and a short thanks. The counsellor had a frown, but a pink flush betrayed her expression. 'The kid's lucky he's cute,' she thought.

* * *

 

A week later the counsellor found herself forgetting about the matter with her students. Afterall, she does have a life to manage; especially after her recent divorce and shared custody. It was the second weekend of the month and so it was her turn to watchover her son. Shhe drove an hour to another town to pick her son in her ex-husband's home. She took her son on a trip to the mall, where they shopped and watched a movie.

They arrived at her place right in time for her to prepare dinner. He seemed to forgot to join her at the table though. "Honey! Dinner's ready!" She called out for her son from the kitchen, but no one answered.

"Honey!" She made her way to her son's room. Once there, she saw him sitting cross-legged on the floor with his huge headphone on. She crossed her arms by the door, "Honey, what are you doing?"

The nine year old turned to his Mom. "Hold up, mom, I'm watching a livestream!"

She frowned and decided to sit next to her son. "Watching what?" Her eyes rounded at the sight on the younger's phone, "What is that?"

Her son grinned. "Duel monster – probably the coolest game ever. They're having a massive tournament in Tokyo right now! I have a collection of cards myself. One day, I would love to own one of those duel disks," he pointed to his phone, "But it's kind of expensive".

His mother stared silently at the phone. On the screen you'd see two strangers battling on an arena. However, what's shocking was the sight of huge monsters between the two competitors. Those. Those were duel monster – the card game the boys in her grade school used to play? True, the monsters seemed very familiar and it was stunning to see them in life-sized form.

"You know, those duel disks?" He pointed again at the sight of intricate object on each of the competitors's arms, "They were made by a teen not much older than me!"

"Yeah," The school counsellor was suddenly reminded of her two students, "Seto Kaiba, my student".

"No, mom, Seto Kaiba goes to a school in Tokyo!"

"But he transferred here," she replied again, "He's in my school. And he's participating in that tournament as we're talking, along with another student of mine".

The boy gasped at her mom. "No way! Seto Kaiba is in Domino? Why didn't you tell me that you know him?" He pouted, "And who's your other student?"

"You wouldn't know him, it's his first time going to this kind of event," she wondered how he was doing, "His name is Yami Mutou".

Her boy seemed even more bewildered than before when she mentioned the name. "You mean Yami Mutou is from Domino?!"

"Yeah. His family runs a game shop not far from school," she explained curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Mom! Yami Mutou is like the current hot topic in dueling! He came out of nowhere and beating everyone left and right. He's like..., like a dark horse! Yeah, that's what they call him! And people are convinced he'd be Kaiba's opponent on the finals".

It was probably the first time she ever saw her boy looking this excited talking about someone. He was practically bouncing and swinging his arms everywhere. "Mom you gotta introduce me to this guy. I'm like his number one fan now!"

"You like him more than Kaiba?"

"More than Kaiba!" He answered. She smiled warmly. To think that her son would root for her student - and not the new student who just transferred from Tokyo mind you. What does Yami Mutou has in him that could inflict such an adoration from a young child?

_Maybe he is that good in the game,_ she thought to herself, _he told me he'll prove it after all. Never knew he had it in him._

* * *

 

"The school is always interested on the students' acievements. We'd like to keep in touch with your progress and be there if any assistance is needed," Ms. Suzuki exolained once Seto Kaiba was seated in her office that Tuesday morning. It was the second day since the teen's return from the tournament and she was excited to see him thanks to her son's influence. She had started seeing duel monster as more than a mere children' game it used to be. To think that this youth in front of him could be making such an advanced technology was rather fascinating.

"So that's why you want me to complete this form?" Seto Kaiba eyed the paper handed to him with the usual disinterest in his face. Ms. Suzuki was accustomed to the expression, however, she couldnt help but notice the slight scowl and the tad of distaste in his eyes. Did something happen, she wondered, for the usually distant Seto Kaiba to be this animated just because of a bit paperwork.

"Yes. It only takes a moment, I assure you, Mr. Kaiba. There's still 15 minutes before class starts. Take your time, I'm still waiting for another student to join us".

"Another student?" Ms. Suzuki heard the teen asking, but her answer was disrupted by the sound from her door. Yami Mutou just invited himself inside.

"I'm sorry for taking my time. I need to visit the student council," Yami said as he strode over the counsellor's desk. At Kaiba's bewildered face, he calmly - if not teasingly - said, "Kaiba".

"He studies here!" Kaiba exclaimed begrudgingly. Ms. Suzuki wasn't sure what the problem between the two was, but she swallowed nervously and tried to explain.

"Mr. Mutou has been a student here. He's in the classroom next to yours at 2B. You met him at the tournament, I presumed?"

The brunette ignored her to glare at the other teen, to which Mutou responded to with a smirk as he sat down on the seat right next to Kaiba's. _Something is going on between these two,_ Ms. Suzuki concluded. Never before did she see so much expression in Seto Kaiba's face. Mutou seemed rather calm to be under that steely glare; in fact, he seemed gloatful.

The counsellor instructed Mutou to fill in the same kind of document. The two teenagers didn't exchange any words while they complete their papers, but Ms. Suzuki noticed the hostile look Kaiba is sending the shorter or how Mutou's lips formed a smirk everytime he noticed how the other is looking at him.

Mutou actually finished his paper first and excused himself hurriedly for he was needed to check on the student council before class. The counsellor was left alone with Kaiba, who kept on glaring at the door as if chasing after Mutou's shadow. To make the situation less tense, Ms. Suzuki decided to divert the teen's attention somewhere else.

"So, it's been awhile since your transfer here isn't it? Have you decided on what afterschool activities to join?" She asked with a cheerful voice. The teen still seemed stormy, but he answered with a dark voice.

"What kind of activities does Mutou join in?"

"The older Mutou? Let's see, he...," she tried to remember, "He used to join all sorts of club. He's in the chess club and the astronomy club once. But after he got involved with the student council, he's doesn't spend as much time on those two clubs," her brows met, "Oh, I think he's still active in poetry cl -".

"Student council".

"Hm?"

Seto Kaiba turned to her at last. He looked very determined, "Let me join the student council".

She meant to explain that it doesn't work that way; that the student council doesn't involve new members that much and, even when they do, they wouldn't always team you up (or against) Mutou. But Seto Kaiba was so determined that he left the counsellor's office without further words, not even giving his usual respectful bow.

Was it possible that those two don't get along well? Ms. Suzuki shook her head and gathered their papers. She reviewed it and was surprised to see that Kaiba wrote himself as placing second at the latest tournament. Adding to that, Yami listed himself as first.

* * *

 

The next time she saw those two in the same room would be months after; when she summoned them to discuss their studies in regards to another two weeks leave permit they were requesting. She noted, however, that the two request seemed to be made by one person and were signed by Amy Dunn, who acts as Seto Kaiba's guardian and assistant for as long as his stay in Domino.

Ms. Suzuki was worried Mutou is going behind his grandfather's back to compete in another tournament without the older man's acknowledgement. However out of character that seemed to be for Mutou, she still had to confirm all possibilities So before meeting her two students in her office, she made a call to the Mutou's residence

"Oh, yes! Kaiba just told us about the competition yesterday!" Solomon told the counsellor after she questioned him of his knowledge regarding the tournament that will take place a month from then. "Said that a family friend is sponsoring the event and so he got an early notice. He gave Yami his first official invitation letter just last night".

So Yami was recognized by people enough that he was given an invitation. "I see. I'm wondering if your oldest grandson planned to go?"

"He wants to go! He's very excited to go actually," the man replied, "Is there any problem Ms. Suzuki?"

"U-m, no. Of course not. I was just wondering if you gave him your permission".

"Of course I do! Yami has always wanted to be a professional dueller. As a grandfather and his guardian, all I can do is give him my full support".

The call ended on a good note, yet it made Ms. Suzuki even more confused. The leave permit request was submitted three days ago, but why did the Mutous only knew of the competition last night?

Did that mean Kaiba arranged for Mutou's leave without the latter's knowledge?

Ms. Suzuki shook her head in confusion. The idea just seemed improper and she couldn't imagine Seto Kaiba ever doing that. She made her way from the staff lounge to her office where the front desk lady had waited to hand her some documents from the principal. Ms. Suzuki flipped over the pages of the documents carefully when the front desk woman told her; "Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Mutou are waiting for you in your office, ma'am".

"They're here already?" Ms. Suzuki checked her watch. True enough, the students should be having their break now. "Thank you. I'll be seeing them now".

She was walking a bit hurriedly to her office while still paying attention to the papers in her hands. Some of the papers almost fell; so she stopped by the door and scurried to fix her hands around them. Once she got them under control, she looked up expecting her two guests to notice her. "Sorry, I -"

She quickly shut her mouth. Both Mutou and Kaiba seemed to be comfortable in their own company. They were sitting on the two seats facing the counsellor's desk, and thus having their backs to the door; but even then Ms. Suzuki noticed that Mutou seemed to be half-turned toward Kaiba with his head tilted the other way so he could see the other eye-to-eye. Kaiba had his elbow resting on the back of Mutou's seat, seeming to take a relaxed posture as he used said hand to prop his head. They were talking in hushed voice that made the scene strangely... intimate.

The counsellor felt like she was barging into something. She coughed to give the two time to compose theirselves, but they simply turned their heads to her and fixed their forms calmly - Kaiba took the hand that was resting on Mutou's chair and Yami turned his body so that he could properly face the counsellor. They acted so casual that she thought she was imagining things.

"Sorry I'm late," she took her seat and eyed between the two carefully. _Has something changed in the months I didn't see these two?_ She wondered. "I am calling you here to discuss the matter with your requested leave. The principal is concerned regarding your studies. With this alone and the absence you took last time, the two of you will spend a month away from school in total and we assume that you two will take more time off after, with your activities that is".

Mutou seemed concerned about the issue. Kaiba, however, seemed like he'd seen this coming. He glanced at the back of Mutou's head, surprisingly with no malice laced in his stare, before he addressed the counsellor. "You're saying the school is willing to arrange something while we are away".

Ms. Suzuki nodded. "The school is in full support of the students' succes, of course, but studying is still your priority. A different method is needed to keep you guys in touch with your studies. The principal wants to arrange a time for everyone to discuss this, preferably with your guardians present".

"Saturday," Kaiba gave his sure answer almost instantly. Mutou sighed.

"Grandpa will be off on a trip this Saturday, actually -"

"It's on Sunday," Kaiba disrupted sharply. Mutou turned to him, "What?"

"His trip. It's on Sunday," Kaiba repeated. A tense silence soon followed in which Ms. Suzuki's eyes switched between the two's form. In the end, Mutou shrugged and turned to the woman in the room.

"Saturday then," the shorter teen said in agreement.

Ms. Suzuki coughed for the second time that day - this time out of awkwardness. "Saturday then. I'll inform the principal after this. By the way, these are your permit letter," she handed them the two envelope she just received from the front desk. "I also need to point out that the request letter should be signed by your own guardian. I find it strange for Ms. Dunn to sign both of yours including Mr. Mutou's".

Mutou didn't seem appaled by the information. Instead he took both envelopes and gave one to Kaiba. Kaiba was the one to explain. "I just thought it'll make things easier for everyone," he said without remorse, "If you excuse us, Ma'am".

She nodded at the two. The boys stood from their seat and gave her a short bow.

She saw Kaiba leading the way out and opened the door for the shorter, in which Mutou stubbornly stopped in his track to glare at the other. Yet Kaiba seemed equally stubborn as he held his place by the door to wait for Mutou to walk out first. Mutou eventually gave in, but not before giving an exaggerated sigh and an eyeroll. Kaiba followed the shorter teen shortly after, and Ms. Suzuki swore she saw the latter reaching out toward the lower side of Mutou's back.

The counsellor froze. She was sure that wasn't a gesture toward a rival nor was it for a friend. No, this was something more, but was it possible?

Before she reached any conclusion, Kaiba turned to her and gave a slight nod at her way. Then it happened; he smiled - smirk was a closer description to it, but Ms. Suzuki was far too surprised to surmise of anything else. Never before had she seen Seto Kaiba smile in the time he transferred here.

Once the door was closed, she had her hands on her face, practically covering the flush on her cheeks. _Those two,_ she thought, _they would be the death of me._

* * *

 

**TBC.**

* * *

 

**Thank you for the support and comments! Never thought this would be deemed adorable.**


	4. Yami's Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Warning: overdone fluff
> 
> 2\. I edited this poorly, so pardon the strange flow of this chapter

YAMI'S HAND

* * *

Truth to be told, Seto had always appreciated Yami's physical features from the start. He couldn't help it; the other boy really is beautiful. The area around his ears, going through the jaw and the long neck Seto liked especially. If only Yami didn't run his smart mouth, Seto would probably not feel any malice at the start of their rivalry. Something so beautiful, in Seto's opinion, should stay silent and pretty.

However, it was exactly Yami's cheeky attitude that made it hard for Seto to forget the other boy's cocky smirk. He just had to beat Seto game after game, in which Seto has to come back for revenge and the cycle start all over again. To every word Seto uttered, he would have the perfect return; to the point that Seto would have to listen to his worthless argument about love, life, friendship and the such. If only the other boy was less intelligent, less talented, and less interested in duel monster; then maybe Seto wouldn't have much trouble asking him out. But he had to have all of those traits; making Seto's heart run a mile as though he never liked anyone before. Because someone so brilliant – so so like Seto, yet so so unlike Seto – should've never existed in the first place.

And the guy still had the gal to ask Seto why Seto asked him out. "I just don't get what you see in me," the half-Egyptian said before sipping his coffee. To Seto's knowledge, this is the kind of question middleschoolers would ask their date just to hear what they've always wanted to hear.

Yami, in Seto's perspective, has that side in him. Despite his brilliant mind, he was a romantic at heart – a sappy one, in fact. And however much Seto found that trait of Yami's puzzling, foolish, and surprisingly naïve for someone so intelligent; he also likes it.

Just because he likes Yami's foolishness though, doesn't mean he has to be act foolish too. He ignored his boyfriend's inquire in exchange to sipping his coffee. Yami snorted.

They finished their coffee in no hurry while chatting about the latest development from professional duelers around the world. Once it's time to leave, they raced to slam their share of payment to the table. Pride still got a way into their date thus the matter of who is paying and who isn't was still a huge debate between them. Thankfully, in this café they frequented every weekends, they've agreed to pay in halves; and thus, no arguments ensued.

The walk from the café to school was spent in silence. Seto spent it to reply his mails and Yami busied himself by calling his grandpa. The school was not as busy as usual that day, but it was still busting with energy. Students often use their weekends to do club meetings. You'd see the sport clubs cooling down by the running track, the art club forming a circle around a tree to practice sketching, the drama club practicing yoga while wearing a star shaped hat (those drama kids – they're the quirkiest ones), and a bunch of students could be seen sitting on the stairs, singing loudly while holding a cardboard box that has a bold 'DONATE!' written on it. Seto and Yami ignored the whole scene and aimed straight to their destination on the ground floor; to the staff meeting room.

As expected, Solomon Mutou and Seto's assistant, Amy Dunn, were already present in the meeting room. They were chatting merrily with their school counsellor and wouldn't have noticed the boys arrival if Seto hadn't coughed. "The Principal has a guest in his office. He'll join us in ten minutes. You can sit down and wait here," Ms. Suzuki informed.

Yami was the one to deny her. He shook his head politely. "We'll wait outside. If you excuse us ma'am".

The boys ended up standing in the hallways outside of the meeting room with their backs leaning to the wall. Yami had his hands in his pockets while Seto's arms crossed in front of his chest. Frequently, a couple of students passed by and greeted them – most greeted Yami by name, but glance shyly at the teen standing next to him. Yugi happened to walk by not long after along with Tea. He greeted them cheerfully after noticing his brother, not forgetting to ask about Seto's day. "You're meeting the Principal, right? To talk about that study plan while you're absent from school," Yugi noted. Tea looked surprised.

"There's such a thing? What could they have prepared for you guys?" Her head perked, "What if they planned to give you a free pass all the way to graduation?"

Seto thought it was the stupidest thing she could've suggest. But she looked at him and smiled – as if she could read his distaste and take it as a joke.

Yugi and Tea bid their goodbye after a cheeleader came to get Tea. The two waved and left to their respective clubs. And then they saw it.

Yugi and Tea linking hands as they walked ahead.

The gesture seemed casual for the two that most people would brush it off. But Yami and Seto's eyes latched onto their linked hands; only taking their eyes off once the two lovebirds disappeared from view. "Huh," Seto snorted and looked way. He took a glimpse at Yami, only to have their eyes met in a split second before Yami turned his head the other way. By then he wondered if the scene triggered an idea in his boyfriend's head. Yami was rather prone to sentimentalism.

Another group of people walked by. Yami strangely ignored them for the most part even though they called out to him.

"Don't you think it's interesting how couples like to do it," Yami said once the group left the hallway. "Holding hands, I mean," the teen added. Seto rolled his eyes.

"It's two hands meeting. What more there is to it?" Come on, Seto had experienced way beyond hand-holding, and here he was discussing this?

"I know," Yami shrugged. He tilted his head back and bumped it to the wall behind him, "Yugi and Tea seemed like they enjoy it. They like to do it at home, when they think no one is watching".

Seto scowled. Trust Yugi to not make out with his cheerleader girlfriend when he had her all to himself. For Seto, holding hands and the such hold no significance. He preferred going in for the kill; something more physical. No wonder Yami 's lips was rarely left idling nowadays.

"I want to touch your hand".

Yami was looking at Seto with the face he has everytime he 's immersed in a duel. Seto's orbs traced over the sharp lines of the other boy's face and wondered how someone who looked so fierce could say something utterly stupid.

… yet Seto still likes it.

"Sure," the brunette shrugged. He reached out toward Yami with one hand; to which Yami eyed tentatively before making a grab for it. His hand hovered over Seto's for a split second.

Then he grasped it.

"Mr. Mutou, Mr. Kaiba".

The two boys snapped their heads to the door; hands still connected. Ms. Suzuki, who just appeared from inside the meeting room, was squinting at their hands before looking back and forth between them. By then they must've seem like they were in an awkward handshake to her – unless she has been suspecting them as a couple. "You can go inside now," she said finally.

The boys released their hands hurriedly, almost as if the connection electrified them, and followed the woman into the meeting room. Before closing the door behind her, Ms. Suzuki rolled her eyes. This is what you get for going to school on the weekends; you get to see two boys holding hands.

* * *

The meeting felt like background sound compared to how their minds played the memory of the brief contact moments ago on repeat. Seto couldn't stopped clenching and unclenching the hand that just touched Yami's while his eyes kept roaming to the other boy's way. Yami was distracted too. He kept on looking at his hand in an absent manner.

The meeting – something about arranging a special online curriculum for the two student duelers - went smoothly without much fuss. The whole idea was simple, the school wanted their two students to be able to keep up with their studies even when they're away from school. By the time the meeting ended, an hour had gone by. Good, Seto would rather not spend another minute listening to a bunch of people talk while he awkwardly sent glances to Yami over the table.

Amy could be seen making pleasantries with Mr. Mutou and the teachers when Yami – that unpredictable boy – interrupted their exchanges.

"Can I borrow Seto for awhile? I planned to introduce him to the student council members now that he had joined," the teen said, "I promise I won't be too long".

Seto frowned. If Yami planned to introduce him to a bunch of self-serving 'student council' members, he has yet to inform Seto. The more Seto bore hole to the back of the other boy's head, the more he knew the latter was up to something.

"Sure. I'll be waiting in the car with Tanaka then. Ring us when you're done," Amy responded.

Yami nodded. He gave Seto a short, "C'mon," before leading him out of the meeting room, climbing upstairs to the second floor, ignoring a flock of noisy teenagers, then stopping outside the empty student council office.

"What are you up to?" Seto asked flatly while Yami dug his pocket for keys. The boy opened the office door rather carelessly and waited for Seto to enter. The taller teen went inside and looked around. The room was … messy.

"Quite underwhelming," Seto voiced his distaste. Yami had yet say anything. Instead, he closed the door, locked it, and grabbed a random swivel chair. He sat down hugging the backrest of the chair; hands crossed neatly around said backrest while he rested his head on it.

Seto stood in the middle of the room, eyeing his object of interest curiously "You're acting strange," he let out his observation. Yami started looking unsure and shy.

Suddenly, the shorter boy reached out a hand with the palm facing the taller boy. "I want to hold hands," he said.

Seto responded with a snort. He stepped closer to his lover and , almost roughly, ran his fingers through Yami's outspread ones and clenched tightly on the palm. Seto was sure he heard Yami gasp. The shorter boy didn't return Seto's strong hold on his hand at first. He looked awed and surprised.

When he returned the gesture, it was with such gentleness that Seto couldn't help but notice how time slowed down and everything seemed to focus on their connected hands. Yami had a somber curious look on his face as he tightened and untightened his hold on Seto's, then he released it only to mingle their fingers together, then he tickled it, caressed it, squeezed each fingers, then poked at it. Everything he did was silly – but it sent tingles allover Seto's body. And this sensation, whatever it was, pulsed within Seto like it couldn't stop at the first wave of feeling it's sending.

Yami settled with mingling their fingers while keeping a weak hold on Seto's hand. The look of deep concentration left his visage; replaced with a soft smile. "So this is what the craze is all about huh?" He commented, "It's not bad".

"You say that, but you look like you'd take my hand home if you could," Seto tried to sound hostile, but it came out as a gentle teasing. Yami chuckled and gave a lazy hum in agreement.

* * *

 

On their way to the school gate, Yami returned to his usual self – greeting people by their first name as though he was everyone's best friend, doing small talks to random students, even singing along with those kids who ask for donation (Seto, of course, shadowed his lover with a bewildered look on his face). The two walked to the school gate acting like usual – in a way that made it hard to see that they were dating.

The street beyond the school gate was rather desolated because no one bothered passing by the school on the weekend. Yami stopped in front of Kaiba with a pursed lips – feet busy kicking the invisible dirt on the ground. "So…, Amy is on her way huh?" Yami mumbled. Seto nodded and checked his phone. The assistant texted that she got bored of waiting and took the car with her to grab a cup of coffee

Yami was still fidgeting. However irresistible he was when he got restless like that, Seto still couldn't help wanting to know what bothered the other boy. The shorter gave a final lazy kick to the ground before saying, "So today is…," he kept his eyes to the ground, "It was nice".

Unknown why, Seto felt like looking down too. They've kissed before, a lot. So why were they acting shy now?

Yami was reaching down toward Seto's hand now. He took the hand shyly and held it close to him with both of his hands. Yami stared at the palm with interest. He traced each lines and fingers with care. "I like your hand," Yami said, "I like touching it".

Then he placed a kiss on top of Seto's opened palm.

Seto could see his black Audi approaching from behind Yami as the latter finished his worship on Seto's hand. Yami released Seto's hand after acknowledging the car and smirked playfully.

"You little devil," Seto meant that to sound playful, but the tension was thick in his voice. He ended up brushing his hands behind Yami's ear to avoid speaking, making Yami flinch away from the ticklish touch.

It was time for them to part. Things were a bit awkward after the hand-touching so they hesitated on their usual parting kiss. Seto, especially, felt out of tune.

"Hey, kiss me," Yami hissed finally. Seto rolled his eyes and landed a short peck onto the small lips.

"Call me after you're done with poetry club," Seto reminded in the middle of approaching his car. Tanaka was already by the door, keeping it open for the Young Master.

"You too. Call me after you've picked up Mokuba," Yami replied. The shorter teen stepped back carefully as the car made a U-turn toward where it came from. He waved at the car, oblivious to the fact that Seto was a mess once he was in the privacy of his car. The brunette looked at the hand Yami kissed like it was not his own, before sinking his face to it and letting out a long guttural growl in frustration - resulting to a confused Amy and a worried Tanaka. He just catched Yami's sentimental disease! It was impossible for him to _feel_ this much otherwise.

Yami, in the other hand, confused his poet coach by the sudden fixation on hands in his latest lyric. "You could say he's feeling handy with his poet today," one random clubmate joked, "Ayyy!"

No one laughed.

* * *

 

**TBC.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. This chapter is all about background. If you wonder why I changed Kaiba's family and past background so much, it's because I found his canon past to be too distracting to my story. To keep things light and focused on the main couple, I changed a lot of the canon including Kaiba's childhood and the millenium item.
> 
> 2\. This story is posted in ffnet and AO3. To abide to each site's rules, I post the clean version of this story to ffnet and the full sexual explicit content on AO3. So yes, this story will have MA rated content in the future

TANAKA'S YOUNG MASTER

* * *

 

Tanaka was happy to say that, among the Kaiba's, Seto Kaiba was where his loyalty lies. He had practically drove the boy around since before he was even born, considering the fact that he was the former Mrs. Kaiba's private chauffeur. Mrs. Kisara Kaiba was a famous actress in Japan, known for her half-French origin. She was not only a beautiful woman, but also fiercely independent and intelligent. Tanaka remembered traveling with her and dealing with the paparazzi and obsessed fans; everyday was quite eventful back then.

When she started to swell in her pregnancy, the trip to the shooting location was soon replaced by the trip to the hospital. She made lesser appearances in the big screen and opted for talk shows and staying at home instead. Tanaka was the one to drove her to the hospital for her labor and also the first to ever drive young Seto Kaiba home. As the years went by, Tanaka watches over Seto Kaiba growing up to be a fine toddler as he accompanied his mother everywhere she goes.

But back then, Tanaka had never titled himself as Seto Kaiba's chaffeur. No. He was Kisara Kaiba's, the famous actress and the wife of the infamous Gozaburo Kaiba. He was used to helping her getting inside the car without messing her flashy outfit, seeing her socializing with managers and producers alike in the backseat, fending her off from reporters, and running away from a crowd of people. He was her chauffeur and he expected to stay that way until the end of time, if possible.

Which was not, of course. Seto Kaiba was 6 when Gozaburo was discovered hiding an affair. And it was not just an affair; the hidden relationship had also resulted in a birth out of wedlock. As the family dictated, the offspring of the family should be kept with the family. Thus, Mokuba Kaiba was adopted to the Kaiba's name, while his mother, whose background made her deemed an unworthy companion to the Kaiba Patriarch, was forced to desist.

However, Kisara Kaiba would not accept being second to anyone. She asked for a divorce, even after knowing that the mistress wouldn't have a chance at the Mrs. Kaiba's title. The next couple of months were spent driving Mrs. Kaiba and her legal team back and forth to the court while being careful not to get caught by the growing number of reporters interested in the scandal. In the rare times Seto Kaiba rode with his mother; Tanaka noted the way the boy's face looked grimmer and grimmer each day. Unfortunately, he was far too intelligent to not know what was going on.

There was that strange moment where Tanaka heard Kisara speaking to her child in the supposed privacy of their car. "Seto, if you could pick, whom do you want to live with? Mummy or Daddy?"

Tanaka kept his head straight, but he couldn't help his eyes from wandering to the rear window to peek at the mother and son. Seto could be seen looking up at his mother who sat next to him.

"With Daddy," he answered.

"Why Daddy?"

"Because I'm going to own his company one day," the boy answered truthfully; straightforward but not practiced. Kisara could be heard giggling.

"That's my boy," she praised. Tanaka knew Seto was would never be happier with anyone but Kisara; however, the chauffeur understood the family affair was complicated enough that Kisara had to step back from her parenting right. With Seto's status as the first born who shows obvious prodigy traits; it would be impossible for the Kaiba's to let him go. Kisara knew this fact too well.

Tanaka was actually the last to ever drive Kisara as Mrs. Kaiba, and the first to ever drive her as Ms. Kisara Shiroi, her maiden name. He was also the last to see her speaking with her son for awhile as he chauffeured them to the International Airport. Kisara had decided to leave her old life and move to New York. Tanaka had never seen Seto Kaiba looked so small as they drove there. He clung to her mother's dress while she whispered comforting words.

"Don't be sad, Seto. You still have Tanaka by your side, don't you?" Kisara cheered, though you could hear the thick loss in her voice, "You'll watch over Seto for me, wont you, Tanaka?"

Tanaka had never given a bigger yes before. On their way back from the airport, Tanaka had officially became Seto Kaiba's chauffeur.

* * *

 

The years that followed was basically Tanaka driving the Young Master to and from the school. There were very little words exchanged between them; but Tanaka knew the child well enough to understand him through his silence.

The boy became more aloof, distant, and cold since his mother's departure. He had always been an independent child, of course; but there used to be some warmth left in him when his mother was present. Nowadays, his tone of speech got flatter and his eyes darkened with early maturity. In his childhood years, he never took a friend home, never went to a friend's house, never went to birthdays, and he never even visited the park to play.

The most Tanaka ever saw of Seto Kaiba's company being books and a set of cards – duel monster cards. The chauffeur knew that the Master was furious of his son's interest on the card game; the man thought it was immature and rather tasteless for a Kaiba to be into such child games. So The younger Kaiba hid his cards in the car and would be seen browsing through it when he's on the road. The car ride was Seto Kaiba's only redemption after the constant pressure and high expectation he received from Gozaburo on a daily basis at home. In the car, without any expectations, without anyone to deny him anything, he could be himself. Tanaka was happy to oblige.

Came the child's eleventh birthday, his father gave him a KC tablet, a new product from Kaiba Corp. The books that used to be the boy's long time company started getting absent from their ride. As a replacement, Seto Kaiba could be seen getting immersed in his new tablet, along with other kinds of the best technologies Kaiba Corps. could offer. The only thing that didn't change was the presence of the young Kaiba's deck of cards next to him.

Tanaka never knew what the Young Master was holing himself into when he had that tablet in his hands. He discovered that you could read from the tablet – so maybe it was an exact replacement of his books. But the focused look the boy had in his face every time he used that handheld technology was different to the way he normally sees his books.

It wasn't until Seto Kaiba was thirteen did Tanaka finally knew what the Young Master had been up to. He heard about it from the servants in the main house. "The Master is pleased of The Young Master," they said. "The Young Master went ahead of what is expected of him," they said. It took awhile for Tanaka to grasp the whole concept, but later on he learned that the Young Master had publicize a design and it was highly appreciated by the public. And surprisingly, this design had everything to do with that card game his father used to mock him with.

Technology sure had a lot to play in this – but Tanaka didn't know much about technology. Long story short, the Young Master's design was recognized enough that Mr. Gozaburo himself decided to buy the design and make it come true under the company's wing. With that, The Young Master was adopted to be one of the project's developer. It was a matter of celebration, of course. Tanaka remembered a number of national TV making a report on a 'brilliant thirteen year old' who was capable of doing 'something beyond his years'. The news became somewhat viral after it was aired at the end of the evening news along with a report from the local zoo. It became a positive sensation in the middle of a stormy political climate in Japan; and that made Seto Kaiba a household name.

Under what the public see as a 'wonderchild' phenomenon, however, everything was a serious business. Seto Kaiba took his responsibilities like a full pledged adult. He had his hands full not only of school, but also of the project he labored from his own hands.

Tanaka's job had then extended from picking The Young Master up from school to driving him to some of Kaiba Corps most important buildings. Thanks to that, Tanaka heard his fair share of inside information, saw his fair share of secret meetings, and met his fair share of famous faces. And in the middle of all that was the wonderchild himself, Seto Kaiba, handling himself smoothly as though he had always been a part of such a mature intellectual community.

His mind instantly flashed back to the times he worried over the Young Master's lack of friend. But after seeing the young Kaiba handling himself like an adult, Tanaka realized that maybe Seto Kaiba was never a child.

Maybe the Young Master really was an adult in disguise.

Maybe he really shouldn't be treated like a child all along.

Tanaka found solace in this conclusion. His Young Master never seemed happier in the years he had to withstand alone without his mother. And thus, as promised with the former lady herself, Tanaka shall give the Young Master his full support, whether he wanted to act like most kids his age, or preferred to be as old as Tanaka.

That is, until she came around.

* * *

 

Her name is Saki Ono; a person put in charge by Mr. Gozaburo to assist his son in both his studies and his duties in the company. She was first introduced to Tanaka a year after the Young Master's sudden fame. Saki Ono appeared as a Japanese young woman with delicate features and a 'classic beauty' kind of face. He remembered her smile when she first shook his hand; bright, intelligent, and confident despite her lithe figure.

"I'll be in your care. Please call me Saki".

Tanaka found himself thinking she'd be a brilliant addition to his twosome ride with the Young Master.

The Young Master, however, didn't instantly take a liking to her. They were first introduced in the car when Tanaka picked the Young Master from school. After she introduced herself as his new assistant, the teen started judging her top to bottom, even going as far as criticizing her gender. She had no chance to defend herself then. Seto Kaiba was known to be judgmental and sharp-tongued.

It was only after Gozaburo himself informed his son of her role through phone that Seto Kaiba finally cut his malicious comments. He didn't, however, stop from glaring at her. And before leaving the car, the teen actually took a moment to hiss at her.

"I don't need a babysitter".

A loud slam of the car door soon followed to warn his new assistant not to follow. Tanaka turned to the woman with an apologetic look. She looked at him looking rather disgruntled.

"Wow," she took a deep breath. The smile she had didn't look as confident as before, "For a fourteen year old he sure didn't act nor talk like it".

If only Tanaka knew, he would correct her opinion of the younger man right away. But he didn't. Instead, he laughed encouragingly and said, "That's our Young Master for you".

* * *

 

Eventually, Saki Ono proved herself to be a capable woman who's quick on her feet with a sharper wit to follow. The first days she shared with Tanaka and the Kaiba heir was tense as her words and dedication were returned with silence if not sharp retorts. When Seto Kaiba was absent from the car, she would be murmuring words of encouragement and correction to herself as she worriedly fix her hair. But came the second month of her employment, she started acting more relaxed and like herself. In the constant silence and hostile behavior Seto Kaiba sent her ways, she'd gave the Young Master's sharp remarks of her own – most of them filled with playful humor, but certainly not lacking a bite of intellect.

It seemed that this was the start of Seto Kaiba's acknowledgement of her. Tanaka often caught him eyeing her curiously from behind his tablet, sometimes even returning her retorts with something of similar fervor – witty, sarcastic, and definitely not hostile. The critics became a battle of sarcasm and irony instead, which became somewhat a unique relationship between the two.

Then Seto Kaiba started entrusting her with tasks – tasks that she'd execute with tremendous results. He took her with him to meetings, even reminding her ahead to prepare for gala dinners or parties with sponsors.

Tanaka couldn't be more proud to say that Seto Kaiba had finally found a friend.

Then came the Young Master's infamous fifteen birthday – a cause of celebration in the Kaiba's main house. The party was huge, inviting celebrities and politicians alike for the Kaiba's to flaunt their heir. It definitely wasn't your typical pool party with free alcohol and teenagers making out in parents' bedrooms; but it was befitting for Seto Kaiba.

Tanaka remembered being told to pick her up first by the Young Master himself. She came out of her apartment looking beautiful with a barnd new dress that was definitely of a designer's label and a set of matching jewelries. "Do I look weird?" She asked Tanaka shyly once she was inside of the car, "The Young Master bought this for me".

Tanaka gave her the most genuine smile a brutish 48 year old chauffeur who doubles as a bodyguard could give. "You look wonderful," he told her; and her smile grew.

He heard the same compliment given to her by the Young Master himself once they picked him up at the main house – although the younger sounded more breathless, in which Tanaka snickered silently. Tanaka remembered Seto Kaiba opening the door for her, as though he never slammed it to her face once, and holding out a hand for her. He actually invited her to hook her arm around his in a gentlemanly manner before they walked side by side into the five star hotel where the party was taking.

Tanaka remembered looking at their backs proudly. He remembered thinking it was cute.

If only he knew better, he would've stopped them.

That night of the birthday party, the Young Master and his assistant spent the night at the hotel. Tanaka didn't think much about it because the party lasted until late at night and most of the guests spent the night there in the end. The two went to the car the morning after laughing and smiling at each other. But that was not the problem; the problem was on the hand Seto Kaiba had around her lower back or how they ended up sitting so closely to one another while whispering secrets. If Tanaka was allowed to have a say in it, he'd say it seemed like they were cuddling.

But he ignored that thought. Seto Kaiba was only fifteen, clearly underaged, and Ms. Saki was twenty seven. Besides, Ms. Saki was probably the first friend Seto Kaiba ever made. Tanaka believed that the young man saw a mother figure in her if not a sister.

Then again, Tanaka kept on witnessing cues. Sinve that day Ms. Saki started moving from her seat across the Young Master in the back of the mini limousine to the spot right next to him. The back and forth remarks were also replaced with soft murmurs as they sat side by side. One time, Tanaka even caught The Young Master landing his hand on top of his assistant's leg quite intimately.

They also started spending more nights at hotels. Usually, The Young Master would opted for his home than sleeping out somewhere. But nowadays he would almost always spend the night out even when the event didn't even last till midnight. Along with him, of course, Saki Ono also spent the night.

Tanaka tried to think positively – that maybe the assistant reserved her own room – that maybe they were just too close that it was easy to misunderstand – that maybe he was just too old to understand how the younger generations behave with their friends nowadays. But then it happened.

One day, a female student was caught stealing a kiss from the Young Master by the front gate of his school right when his ride arrived. Even though she witnessed this, Ms. Saki didn't seem to comment on it. She did, however, acted more affectionate with him in the car as though assuring her status.

The next day when they took the Young Master to school, she actually commit her first mistake – and it was probably the mistake that would mess with her life.

When Seto Kaiba just got out of the car, the woman grabbed his arm and pulled him slightly till he bent to her level. She poked out her head and stole a deep searing kiss, right under the eyes of the students who just arrived at the school gate that day. The Young Master seemed clueless to what the kiss implied, he was too inexperienced to understand women's jealousy and possessiveness. Tanaka knew, however; and he couldn't withstand the rage that he felt toward the woman who sat with him in the same car.

Tanaka drove the car around before stopping somewhere less crowded. He turned around and, with a threatening figure he hadn't used since that time he confronted the reporter who stalked Ms. Kisara, faced Saki Ono. The woman looked terribly alone; but that didn't temper Tanaka's wrath.

"Do you know how harmful your action would be to The Young Master's well-being, Ms. Ono?" He growled in the kind of voice he hadn't heard for awhile from his own mouth. The addressed woman didn't look at him; her eyes wandered to the view outside instead as though she was reminiscing.

"Your action could tarnish the Young Master's name, in the safe haven of his own school in fact!" His tone rose, "I've kept my silence long enough, Ms. Ono. And if only you've kept yours, everything will be fine!"

"If his family get ahold of this, God help you, Ms. Ono," he hissed, "Your whole future – No. _You_ will be ruined".

Tanaka turned around to face the wheel. He took a deep breath before turning the engine on. The man meant to start driving again, but he was disrupted by the woman's shaky but clear voice.

"He sees me for what I am".

Tanaka paused to see her through the backseat mirror. She still wasn't looking at his direction. But, despite how frail she looked now, she also seemed braver than ever. This was her coming clear to herself and to confess. There would be none but honesty here and on.

"He understands me," she continued, this time returning Tanaka's gaze through the mirror before she looked faraway yet again. "Since I was a child, Mr. Tanaka, I've always been so bright. Top of my class, winning competitions here and there – but I was also unfortunate".

"My father was an alcoholic who neglected my mother. My mother, in her desperation, took different men home," she paused, "She hit me sometimes. Many times. Called me names and blamed me for her misfortune. But I held on, Mr. Tanaka, because I believe one day someone will see me for myself – that I was meant for something better".

"Maybe I should've achieved all that, if only that rich kid didn't bribe the school to push me down from first place to second in the yearly examination result. Maybe I should've achieved all that if only the day of the National Science Olympic a bunch of Yakuza didn't wreck my house so that the district where I lived didn't have to send the second place to replace me. Maybe if I don't have a suicidal mom I wouldn't have to score poorly on the test for a scholarship to Tokyo University. Maybe then I didn't have to go to a local university, where I still have to balance three jobs and school to pay for myself, my cheap tuition, my ill mother, and the debt my Father owed to the Yakuza".

"And Naoki, he -," she paused, "a desperate choice. He's a banker with a simple life, a man whose name you might've never heard about. He's kind to me and he's willing to save me from my debt. I care for him but I… never felt the connection with him".

So she had a person, somewhere out there, that might be thinking she was loyal to him and him only. Tanaka sighed. Things were getting complicated.

"You may see me less of a woman, Mr. Tanaka, but I care for that boy. Seto is the only man that I felt such a connection to. He's the only man that could make me feel like myself -"

"A boy," Tanaka disrupted, "He's only fifteen going on sixteen, I remind you. Not a man". The chauffeur sighed, "You've started this yourself. I can no longer protect you two if this ever get to his family".

They sunk into a very tense silence.

* * *

 

It didn't take long. Tanaka just drove the assistant to Kaiba Corp's headquarter when he received a phone call. All he heard was a calm, "Tanaka," and the chauffeur instantly knew.

It was the former Mrs. Kaiba herself.

"Tell me all you know," she ordered elegantly, but the venom in her voice was sound. Despite Tanaka's loyalty to the Young Master, he could never deny his former employer. So Tanaka told her everything – from the day Seto Kaiba met Saki Ono to the event that took place earlier that day.

The day after, Tanaka was informed that the Young Master wouldn't be going to school. The chauffeur hadn't seen anything happening inside the main house, but he sure heard things from the servants.

"I heard it already reached Ms. Kisara"; "Mr. Gozaburo is very disappointed"; "There's an investigation going on for awhile by Ms. Kisara. There's pictures evidence and everything"; "the school contacted the Master yesterday, saying that there's an incident right outside of school".

And Tanaka was convinced, his former employer had been suspicious all along. The report from school simply solidified her suspicions. The next day, Tanaka heard the worst news from the servants.

"The Great Mistress has found out".

Great Mistress. She had long left her throne as the official leader of The Kaiba's fortune, but she was still a name that could haunt every member of the Kaiba family. She is Gozaburo Kaiba's mother and the former leader of the Kaiba household; Izumi Kaiba.

The old lady had spent her retirement in New Zealand with some of the most loyal and capable servants the Kaiba ever have. She was known to be cunning, influential, and very much intimidating that even Gozaburo Kaiba would cower to her feet. In fact, the only reason Ms. Kisara would gladly step back from her parenting right toward her son was because the infamous antagonism she had with the old Kaiba matriarch. After all, Izumi Kaiba was rumored to not hesitate on using any means to achieve her goals; even murder.

No wonder Mr. Gozaburo seemed pale when he and his oldest son was ordered to visit New Zealand for an imperative family meeting. Tanaka remembered seeing his Young Master's expressionless face as he sat in the back seat of the car on their way to the airport. He seemed lifeless and, Tanaka noted, depressed.

Who wouldn't be? Every achievements he ever done was casted aside for this latest scandal. Even the school had now pointed fingers at him for committing something so unsightly by the school ground - doing sexual act with a grown woman. The whole family was busy taking care of the scandal so that it wouldn't reach the media nor the public. All these, because of a teen's clueless action and an adult woman brashness.

Tanaka hadn't even seen Saki Ono in all this. When he thought about it, he hadn't seen her since he dropped her at the Kaiba's main office. She was either on the run or she was ordered to by the Kaiba's. Whatever happened to her, it was better for her not to show herself anywhere near. She was a legal adult dating the Kaiba's underaged heir who dared to tarnish his name on his own school. Forget the fact that it was illegal; what she'd done was practically an insult to the Kaiba elders.

And the Kaibas do not forgive easily.

And Tanaka wondered if Seto Kaiba truly loved that woman, if it was mere curiosity or teenage foolishness, or if Seto Kaiba would chase her like a true Kaiba would to their utmost desire despite everyone's disagreement. He wondered if Seto Kaiba and Saki Ono could ever be a thing if only they both waited till he's of age or if she wasn't married. Last but not least, he also wondered if Seto Kaiba was truly heartbroken, would it be for the lost of her or the lost of his family's trust in him.

No one truly knew what Seto Kaiba was thinking. All Tanaka knew, after Seto Kaiba returned from New Zealand, the Young Master was stripped from his position in Kaiba Corp. and was told to transfer from the only home he ever knew to a small town he never knew existed until now. This was all done to put a distance between Seto Kaiba and the scandal while the family worked to keep the scandal away from the public's knowledge.

Tanaka, being the only familiar face the younger Kaiba was allowed to take with him to Domino, watches on as Seto Kaiba reverted to his distant and lifeless self – the exact reenactment of himself right after his mother left. He would lock himself in his room after school and would ask for his dinner to be sent to his room. To have everything you've grown used to – the place you called home and the passion you've long fought for – taken from you could do that to anyone.

"What kind of a woman is the Great Mistress?" Tanaka found himself asking Amy Dunn. Amy, who was in the middle of sipping her favorite order of Starbucks, tilted an eyebrow curiously.

"Why are you asking?"

"Just curious," Not everyone, especially not a chauffeur, had the chance to ever meet the elderly Kaiba. Tanaka usually couldn't care less, but after witnessing the changes that had taken place in the Kaiba household in the last one year, one would wonder. "For a woman who is said to put family first, she sure did a good one on her grandson".

Amy Dunn sighed, "Well, you sure know nothing about her like I do".

Amy Dunn was the second assistant of Seto Kaiba; handpicked by and directly responsible to Izumi Kaiba. She was a Harvard graduate with a record in International Judo tournament and an experience working with the Great Mistress herself. She was carefully chosen not to repeat the same mistake as Saki Ono, but seeing that Amy had two failed marriage at the age of thirty-five, it was least likely that she would.

Born American, the woman does not have the timid attitude nor the petite stature of a Japanese woman. Compared to Saki Ono, who had a warm and sweet air, Amy is opinionated and hot-headed. Thus, she does not shy away from admitting that her best interest lies on The Great Mistress, not Seto Kaiba.

Tanaka did not worry that Amy Dunn would be Saki Ono The Second; but he had his suspicions that Amy was sent to his Young Master only to further punish him and restrict his movements.

"Do not look at me like we are the enemy," Amy uttered coolly, "Why do you think the company hold the Tokyo Tournament in the first place?" The woman waved the envelope that contained the invitation letter for Seto Kaiba to participate in a duel monsters tournament in Tokyo. It was labeled with Kaiba Corp's infamous logo, signing that it was the Kaiba Corp's first official tournament.

Kaiba Corp had yet to launch it's own official tournament until this tournament in Tokyo. It was all a bit sudden too. It took place only months after the Young Master's transfer to Domino and lasted for two weeks.

Amy smiled knowingly. "Kaiba Corp's core product has always been more than just duel monsters. And amongst these products, Gozaburo Kaiba cared for duel monsters the least. So who else do you think pushed this idea to reality when the main promotor of Duel Monsters is not even in the headquarters?"

"Are you trying you tell me the Great Mistress proposed this?"

"She worries for her oldest grandson," Amy disrupted, "She wants this event to be a reminder to Seto that his idea is still very much alive in the company even while he is absent. The Great Mistress really wants him to cheer up". She shrugged, "It's really difficult to prepare all this in a short period, you know? The Great Mistress technically enslaved everyone".

Amy's lack of honorary toward the Young Master used to tick Tanaka off, but right then it made her seem so genuine that Tanaka found it hard to dismiss her argument.

"This transfer is not a punishment. The Mistress simply wishes for her grandson to have a life away from the complicated ways of the family business – to be a normal kid. He's the Mistress favorite grandson after all," Amy Dunn added, "Who knows? Maybe in Domino he'd find someone who is a complete opposite of Saki Ono that he could love".

Who knows? Tanaka though to himself as he drove to the Domino High to pick up his Young Master. He wished for his Young Master to get over Saki Ono and his lost of power, but would it be that easy? Even now, in the car's compartment, right next to the tournament invitation letter that Tanaka meant to give his Young Master today, there was a crumpled picture of Saki Ono – smiling alongside her equally cheerful husband, Naoki, and their 5 year old son, Tetsu. Tanaka found the photo in the back seat of the car in a tragic condition; probably left by the Young Master himself. Tanaka still didn't have the heart to throw the picture away.

He really should throw it away soon though.

Tanaka sighed. This much thinking and reminiscing made Tanaka want to smoke. He decided to park a distance away from school and took a drag while he waited for the Young Master to contact him. Before stepping out, he opened the compartment box and took a cigarette from the pack he just bought. He realized it's better to take the invitation letter with him so he could hand it right away to the Young Master so he took that with him too.

Then his hand hovered on top of the crumpled picture of Saki Ono. Should he or should he not?

"I should," he reminded himself with a heavy sigh, "Those two were never meant to be together".

He took the picture along too. However, in his hurry to leave the car, he accidentally dropped both invitation letter and the picture. Both objects were blown by the wind that it dragged further and further away on the road until they stopped at the feet of a young teenager.

"Sorry, those are-," Tanaka's eyes followed the slender hand that reached down to take the letter and the picture to find the face of an attractive looking boy. He has the wildest looking hairstyle and the sharpest looking eyes. Despite the look, he has a rather elegant and beautiful air about him that Tanaka couldn't look away.

"These are yours?" The teen asked after picking up both items. He eyed both objects and seemed to be interested on the invitation letter. Tanaka got ahold of himself.

"Ah, yes. I planned to give that to the Young Master," he informed the teen. The boy flicked a glance toward Tanaka from behind the enveloped invitation letter and smirked.

"You're Kaiba's employer, I presume?" he approached Tanaka, "He's the only one in this town who'd have the privilege to be invited to official tournaments".

So the teen had a bit of knowledge about duel monsters and understood the implication of what was written outside the envelope of the invitation letter. Tanaka nodded as the teen handed out the letter and the picture toward Tanaka.

"I'm surprised to know that another teenager in this town shared the same hobby as the Young Master," Tanaka said goodnaturedly as he took the letter from the other's hand. The teen seemed to be the same age as the Young Master too because he had Domino High uniform on.

"There is more of us actually. is popular in this town," the teen smiled, "Lucky guy to get the invitation. I'm planning to participate in official tournaments too".

Tanaka smiled, "Then you are my Young Master's future opponent. Who knows, maybe we'll meet in the finals of Kaiba Corp's first official tournament".

There's a spark in the boy's eyes that breached between curiosity and challenge before he lifted his chin in such confidence that could only be rivaled by Seto Kaiba himself. "Sure!" The teen smirked at Tanaka. The way he said that sound like a premonition that Tanaka didn't even find it funny. The older man nodded and made his way to lock the car.

"Uh, your forgot your picture," the teen said. Tanaka turned to the other. Sure enough, the teen had Saki Ono's family picture in his hand.

"Oh, I was planning to throw that away," Tanaka laughed in a way to tell the boy that he forgot about the object. The teen tilted his head slightly.

"Really?"

"Yes. I was planning to throw it there," he pointed at the rubbish bin not far behind the boy, "Too bad this old man lost his grip on the way".

Well he's not that old – only 50. But he hoped the boy catch his drift.

The teen eyed the picture thoughtfully, but ended up shrugging. "Okay," the teen turned around and approached the rubbish bin. Tanaka somehow thought the boy planned to take the picture for himself.

"Oi, w-what are you doing?"

The teen stopped by the rubbish bin and tilted his head toward Tanaka. "I thought you wanted to throw it away?" He crumpled the Saki Ono's picture in one hand and dropped it into the bin. Tanaka froze. To think that this stranger could easily threw away the picture of someone who had thrown Seto Kaiba's life around, what kind of power does he hokd?

But then Tanaka didn't feel like he had done something bad. No, this was something right. He felt like he had just witnessed a momentous event; a premonition of some sort.

"A-ah, yes," he coughed to sayt it more confidently, "Yes, I've wanted to throw it away all along".

The teen shrugged and walked ahead to where he came from. "Wait!" Tanaka called, "What's your name?"

The teen looked back and smiled, "Mutou. Yami Mutou".

Tanaka nodded, somehow feeling like he would hear more of that name. Yami Mutou, in the meanwhile, returned to school only to be scolded from trying to go home early and skip the student council meeting.

"I don't know why I did that! I never skipped before. I feel like it's a calling from above," he defended himself. The Student Council Secretary couldn't accept such outrageous reason.

"THE HELL DO YOU MEAN IT'S A CALLING FROM ABOVE, MUTOU? DON'T GIVE ME THAT POETIC DESTINY-ASS-SHIT WHEN YOU PROMISED TO HELP ME CLEAN THE COUNCIL MEETING ROOM THEN LEFT! DO YOU KNOW THEY SAID THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED?"

"S-sorry…"

* * *

**TBC.**

* * *

 

**I know this chapter smelled like an upcoming drama. But I promise you this is mainly fluffy. And... happy belated new year!**


	6. Yami's Bruise

YAMI'S BRUISE

* * *

Seto would sometime roam his eyes over Yami's head to read what the other boy was having in his mind. You see, it's easy to misunderstood the Mutous. It's probably their bold appearance; or maybe because they both like wearing leather; or maybe because Yugi always seemed open yet secretive and Yami always carries himself with such confidence – all of those, made people think they would be promiscuous and untamed. Of course with Yugi, you'd dismiss these thoughts once you talked to him (the kid is tangibly timid and naïve) – but with Yami and his bold personality, you'd find rumors tailing around. It does not matter if no one ever caught him doing something indecent; people would always thought he had gone adventurous with a couple of girls, especially with that Gardner girl. Oh boy, if only they knew which Mutou the Gardner girl was truly dating.

Then again, now that Seto thought of it, he kind of expected Yami to hardcore seduce him right after they officially dated. He was prepared to have Yami tackle him to the ground in a surprise-attack after his confession and Seto had planned to resist; because Seto would rather have the pace of the relationship under his terms. If Yami wanted to challenge that, Seto would face him head on.

But that did not happen.

For a while, Seto still had himself warily watching the back of Yami's head and wondered when the other boy would seduce him. Yet, after a number hints and moves toward that boy, Seto realized that maybe… Yami was not the untamable fire people made him to be.

It took a while for Seto to piece it together. He was even suspicious that Yami was planning something after the numerous sweet gesture he directed toward Seto. Yami would call him in the middle of the night because he wants to listen to Seto's breath while they fell asleep; Yami would slip the word 'cute' when he saw Seto – a compliment that Seto had never expected from anyone considering he sees himself as 'cool' than 'cute - ;and there were the moments Yami insists hey hold hands. He admitted that Yami's innocent gestures affected him more than he liked them to; in fact, he adores Yami's treatments, he'll gave the other boy that. But back then Seto was convinced Yami planned to lower his guard before pulling a move; thus brushing it off as a trap.

Then came that day when they sat in Seto's study to build their deck. It was less than two weeks before another tournament and there was tension between them. They had been spending time sitting a distance away from one another while they both had their decks in hand. Hey, they might like one another, but they wouldn't be all buddy-buddy on a competition.

Till that day, they had yet to show their full deck to the other. They wanted too, but they expected the other to take the first step. Pride gets in the way sometimes; and it was obvious from the glare Yami sent to Seto from behind his cards as though saying, "I'm your boyfriend; how could you not show you deck to me?" And Seto would stare back as if to say, "I'm avenging my loss; boyfriend or not".

The message was clear; they were rivals first and lovers second.

Yami was pulling a frown from the seat right across to Seto. Seto himself sat on the seat behind the desk; skimming through his cards and switching a couple of traps with another card. And then, in the middle of scouring through his cards, Yami perked up and said rather spontaneously, "See this. It's cute," while offeeing a card to Seto.

The silence that came after was instant. Yami looked surprised at his own reaction; to think that he would be the first to open his card to Seto was a bit embarrassing. Seto was surprised too. He expected himself to scoff if one of them ever expose their deck; but Yami's gesture made his heart flutter instead. And that was weird; Seto Kaiba does not do that puppy love cliché.

The card Yami pulled up was a fusion card called Dark Magician Girl The Dragon Knight. It has the picture of Dark Magician Girl; a card that was somehow dubbed Yami's signature monster even though he had only used it once in the last tournament; on a dragon. Obviously, it's a fusion between the prior and any dragon monster card.

Yami pulled a face that he rarely showed on others; pursed lips, one winked eye and an arched eyebrow; as he put his words together. "Cute huh?"

"What makes you think it's cute?" Seto replied flatly.

Yami seemed disappointed. He returned the card to his deck and huffed, "Well I just thought it portrays us".

Sure, Seto has been known to use dragon based deck. The card had a picture of Dark Magician Girl riding a dragon; which Seto took as a teasing material. "I bet you wouldn't mind riding my blue eyes". Sure, they have yet to discuss sex, which Seto had thought of a lot lately. Of course in gay relationships, one would be expected to switch roles in bed. However, Seto was really shooting for Yami to give up the top position first.

Yami shrugged as he skimmed through his cards. "That would be awesome," he answered absently. Seto snapped back to Yami. Really?

The shorter teen noticed Seto's bewildered look and felt even more awkward. "What?" The shorter asked. When Seto kept his silence, Yami sputtered to defend his opinion, "It's big and regal!"

If Yami was trying to be a tease, then he had used the wrong expression (though, admittedly, the exclaim had been 100% on the point). Seto thought the day they will start hinting about sex would be the day Yami stopped acting like a hopeless romantic and started uncovering his wilder persona. But here he was, looking all confused and embarrassed. So Seto curiously (and hopefully) pressed on, "You think it's big and regal?"

"Well, yeah. I mean it looks good on the duel disk, but on the arena it looks majestic".

"… you're talking about my card".

Yami glanced sideways before looking back at his boyfriend, "What else should we be talking about?"

'Oh, I don't know, you allowing my dick inside your ass?' Was what Seto wanted to say. But Yami pulled that innocent gaze so tremendously that Seto almost believed he honestly had no idea what they were talking about. It made Seto feel uncool somehow, because he really was losing it!

"Fine," Seto huffed,  _if that's the game you want to play._  Yami had the gal to look confused.

* * *

A couple of days went by and Seto noted that the rivalry was getting stronger between them. It has gotten to the point where they avoid talking about spare times as to not bring up the fact that they would be training and build a better deck to defeat one another. They skipped phone calls and, worse, kissing.

Along with the rise of competitiveness between them; Seto also felt the rise of sexual tension from his end. The distance between them was making him a bit frustrated. They had only dated for a month, sure; but Seto was used to a relationship where kisses are casual and romancing was skipped for the sex. They called his past relationship a mistake, but Seto wouldn't take it back nor regret it. He likes sex; it's almost a passion for him – beside winning and duel monsters that is.

Even then, he could still be a gentleman and play along with Yami's push-and-pull game. Seto felt stupid that he hadn't properly frenched the other boy; he hadn't even necked Yami yet (and the other boy's neck was Seto's favorite part of his body)! Their make-out session was always cut short somehow, mostly by Yami; and Seto was convinced the guy was building this tension purposefully to make Seto lose his cool.

The only reason Seto doubted his own suspicion was that incident at the school rooftop. He and Yami were meeting after lunch as usual when Yami brought up gym class earlier that day. "Everyone noted that I have two holes on my lower back – like, right on top of my butt," the guy shared, "Tristan laughed and made fun of it. I'm sure Joey will make fun of it soon too".

Seto turned to his boyfriend and pulled his cancer stick out of his mouth. His brows met. "You mean you have dimples on your behind".

Yami shrugged in the dismissive manner Seto often caught him whenever Seto tried to drop an innuendo. "I guess you could say that. They do look like dimples," the shorter guy admitted.

Seto landed his gaze on top of Yami's forehead. He wondered if kissing it would transfer Yami's thoughts into his mind; for right now, he was curious if Yami was trying to egg him on or if this was all a casual discussion. Seto was attracted to those dimples – or Apollo dimples, as known popularly. He had a collection of shots taken on both men and women's back, all with these dimples on their body, in his laptop. Simply put, if Yami was flirting, then he had made a huge move against Seto.

"But it's kind of weird to think you can have dimples down there," Yami continued, "Or anywhere else but your face, right?"

"It's not weird," Seto took a slow drag from his cigarette, "The attraction of those dimples has been acknowledged since the days of Michelangelo. It's a trait considered to be," he paused, "sensual".

Something flashed in Yami's eyes for a split second; something heated; but it's gone by the next second. "I guess," Yami agreed after staring at Seto for a long minute.

Seto took one last drag from his cigarette. He then scrunched the cigarette butt to the ground. "You know, they said that people with those dimples reach orgasm easier," Seto told the other.

"Are you saying I'm early?" Yami half grunted and eyed Seto head on. They both were merely an inch away now, nose almost touching.

"I'm saying it could ease taking it in the back," Seto noted, "It would be less painful for you, probably". If Yami got angered because Seto practically told him to bottom first, then let him be. He's the one to bring up the dimples.

Instead of anger, all Yami said was, "Taking what in the back?"

 _Really? He still wants to play this game,_  Seto thought. Whatever, Seto was sick of playing dumb. If Yami thought Seto would give up topping for their first time with this trick, he was mistaken.

Seto zeroed into the side of Yami's neck and nuzzled, only to have Yami struggling and, surprise surprise, cackling. "Cut it out! That tickles!" The tricolor haired teen exclaimed before having a fit of laughter.

Seto stopped to have a good look at the other. Who the fuck would laugh in the middle of petting? The only kind who would giggle in situations like this are...

Virgins.

* * *

Was it possible, Seto wondered, for the Yami Mutou people speculated as a flirt to actually be a virgin?

Seto found himself observing the top of his lover's head more often to read what he's thinking. The moment Yami seemed to drop a hint, Seto would hesitate; calculating if it was meant to be innocent or a provocation. He now realized that Yami had always put a stop before their intimate contact became too intense. Their kisses were short and touches were kept at a minimum. All these times, Seto thought Yami's restraint was a trick. But it may not be restraint at all.

It might be… cluelessness.

If that was the case, then maybe Seto shouldn't have kissed the guy when he asked him out. Not that Yami protested, but his kisses felt rather vanilla for Seto's liking.

Seto watches on as Yami craned his head to the right and massaged the back of his neck. It was three days before they would leave the town for the tournament, and here they were; sitting on the rooftop after school. They just discussed about preparations for their travel and had settled that Yami should spend the night over at Seto's place before their leave.

Something instantly came up to Seto's mind; one of them of worrying if Yami'd find out about the deck Seto especially built to defeat him once he spend the night over; the other being if spending the night over would mean making out on Seto's bed; then came the question if Yami even  _knew_ how to do those stuff. So Seto shoot the question.

"Let me ask you something," Seto started, only continuing once he was sure he had his boyfriend's attention, "Have you ever dated that Gardner girl?"

Yami was in the middle of texting. His face animatedly changed from concentration, to disgust, to confusion. He answered slowly, not taking his eyes off the phone, "…no. That's like… dating Aibou. Do we seem like we are?"

God, no. "People think you guys are". And they are betting if they'd be wild enough to steal your attention, was what Seto wanted to add, buy didn't.

"Obviously they knew nothing," Yami hissed at his phone; fingers kept its wild rhythmic tapping on his mobile. In exchange, he missed the heavy gaze Seto grazed the side of his head.

"I take it you've never dated anyone before me," Seto said again. Yami took a couple of seconds too long to pause. When he did, his head turned toward his boyfriend slowly. "Yes," when he caught on to Seto's strange look, he added, "What?"

"You're a virgin".

They both stared for a full ten seconds – all the while, Seto's heart sped up to a mile a minute. There's something empowering in forcing the older Mutou to reveal his V card. The moment Yami bent down his head, looking more unsure than ever, Seto felt like he had stripped the guy out of his confidence.

"I am," was the short answer, followed with a glance toward Seto's way. There's vulnerability in that stare that made Seto's pride soar. It could be the idea that he's the one with more knowledge between them; or maybe it was the idea that he had heard a dirty little secret; but most likely it was because Yami Mutou was untouched, and his innocence is now in Seto's hands.

"And you?" Yami continued. His tone was laced with accusation. At this point, you'd knew Yami recognized the gap between him and his boyfriend; and it was a gap that made him feel isolated and inadequate. "For someone so young, you sure seem experienced," he told Seto. The fact that Seto acted so calm unsettle the shorter even more.

"How do you define 'experienced'?" Seto asked distractedly.

"You tongued my lips and stuff".

"That's called trying to properly kiss you, moron," Seto growled.

"So you are experienced," it was a question.

Seto shrugged, "Maybe I am".

Yami was then looking at his lover like he had seen a ghost. They were of the same age; but now it felt as though Seto was way older. "And now you're scared of me," Seto was the one to accuse now. Yami scowled.

"I'm not scared of you!" Yami growled, only to glue himself closer to the wall he's leaning to when Seto suddenly shortened the distance between their faces. The shorter eyed between Seto's lips and blue eyes. He gulped, but forced himself to repeat his conviction, "I'm not".

Seto teased him with a doubtful look before pecking the other boy on the lips. When he finally left the other's lips alone, he stared hotly at Yami's eyes and smirked mockingly. "Prove it".

"You're getting cocky for something as silly as virginity," Yami rebuked.

"And you're strangely defensive for something as innocent as a kiss," Seto countered and shorten their distance once again to provoke the other, "We haven't even french-ed yet".

Silence.

"Let me tongue you," Seto whispered softly.

Yami tch-ed, "Fine".

"Do not push me away this time," Seto warned. Yami said nothing, but he didn't evade the brunette. So Seto slowly landed a hand on the side of the other's arm and leaned for a soft kiss. When he let go, it was to look at Yami in the eye, "Good?"

He didn't wait for an answer and instead let four of his right hand fingers touched the side of Yami's face while the thumb was used to part Yami's lips. He leaned closer, mouth open and ready to taste the other. He licked the roof of Yami's mouth; tasting the embarassment and temptation in Yami. He pulled out of the crevice for a second, only to return with full fervor. He let his arms roam around until he maintain a secure hold around the smaller body; so that Yami understood just how strong his desire truly is. And Seto felt a desperate hand clenching the front of his school uniform. Seto left Yami's lips once in a while, just so that Yami could breathe and calm down.

Then Seto's cold fingers grazed Yami's left ears and massaged it. Yami leaned away a bit for he felt a bit too tingly all over and Seto's ticklish rubbing on his ear didn't help him calm down. Seto gave the other's lips one last kiss before he took a good look on the other's flushed face and plunged to nuzzle the right side of the neck he had long adored. He took a long sniff at it and lapped his tongue on the warm skin. The brunette was not discouraged when he felt Yami tensed up and a hand was gripping Seto's hand so tightly it hurts.

Seto gave a bite on the spot right under the ear and sucked lightly. Yami flinched and Seto knew he heard a sharp gasp. Seto felt like leaning all his weights on the other; for the sensation of pinning the untouchable Yami Mutou and making him react however Seto wanted were so thrilling.

Seto finally let go after making sure the neck was thoroughly kissed. He smirked cockily at Yami's way and felt like tapping playfully at the other's red face. "If only you could have a look at your face," the brunette chuckled at Yami. "My hand, if you don't mind," Seto added and tugged lightly on his right hand that was still stuck under Yami's death grip. Yami let it go absently.

Seto chuckled once more.  _Virgins_ , he thought affectionately. So Yami truly was the typical goody-two-shoes from a small town; the type who'd focus on school and not think much of anything else. It's hard to believe those types really exist for Seto had long fooled people with the same front. Having a real one by his side was rather... endearing.

Seto decided he'd have another smoke while he waited for Yami to collect himself. Poor boy seemed a bit lost. Seto hoped he atleast gets the drift that Seto could take care of his virginity nicely - as long as Yami hands it to him of course.

At least Seto was gentleman enough to send Yami home. Tanaka sent the tricolor haired teen a worried gaze when the latter forgot to answer his greeting. "He's tired," Seto explained; smirking proudly at the bruise he made under Yami's right ear.

* * *

**TBC.**

* * *

**Doesn't feel like it came out right. What do you think?**


	7. The Lover's Rivalry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Poor editing ahead. Beware.  
> 2\. Some technical problems occured so I wont be able to post this on ffnet until later.

* * *

THE LOVER'S RIVALRY

* * *

 

You see, the first time Koji Nagumo found out that his employer, the infamous Seto Kaiba, was capable of paying attention to any other human beside his younger brother was that time when Amy Dunn – the super intelligent foreign woman who loves drinking to the point of spilling the embarrassing details of her failed marriage – came out from the study that beautiful morning to face Koji in the kitchen. She looked bewildered and afraid at the same time that Koji hesitated to ask her what’s wrong. She might have pulled an all-nighter and was simply asking for coffee; or she was high (or drunk); or she had finished that secret call she often does with a mysterious person she dubbed _Mistress_ (which was interesting considering she never even addressed her employer, Seto Kaiba, with a proper title).

Koji might look like the local thug (and he used to be), but he has been the Kaiba’s cook for a while (don’t be surprised, Koji’s family runs the local diner). Thus he knew enough to fear Amy Dunn when she was acting strange. The lady could break a coffee table into two.

“Mr. Tanaka just called me,” she said stiffly, “He said Seto took the guy who defeated him at the last tournament into the car,” she paused, “By the sound of it, the guy is not willing”.

Koji blinked. The tournament that had finished a couple of days ago? Sure, the Young Master had lost, but to meet the first winner after a short time? “Wow, wait. Are you saying the first place winner is in this town?”

She ignored him and took out her phone from her cardigan’s pocket. This was not the Amy Dunn who would drag Koji and Mr. Tanaka to a drinking game until the wee hours of the night. This was the Amy Dunn who was Seto Kaiba’s personal assistant; and she’s dead serious. “I haven’t been able to reach Mr. Tanaka ever since,” she already dialed for the chauffeur.

“How about you call the Young Master and I call Mr. Tanaka?” Koji suggested hurriedly. He didn’t know why Amy acted like this was serious – which made him nervous in return. All he knew, teenage boys often feel like fighting another teen just for the fun of it. Most of the time, it’s harmless. Seto Kaiba may not look like the type who would get into a brawl; but who knew?

Yet the expression on Amy’s face told Koji someone was going to die… literally.

They were listening on the dial tone for a full minute when Amy suddenly said, “Should I call for backup?”

“What backup?”

She turned to him with a harsh glance. “I’ve tracked them,” Amy confessed silently, “They’re going to an isolated area out of town”.

Koji’s brows furrowed, “And?”

“And,” Amy put an emphasis on her words, “Know that if any damages were done, my priority would be to protect the family”.

“You’re saying it like he’s planning something really twisted all because he lost a game to a guy,” Koji replied. But Amy didn’t flinch. Koji blinked, “You’re kidding me right? What is he capable of? He’s a kid! The worst he’d do is punch the guy! And what are you Kaiba employees capable of doing? You guys are hired to… what, hide a dead body??”

The way she looked away reminded Koji that she is a trusted employee of The Kaiba’s. There are times Koji felt like she was a good friend; yet sometimes, especially when he caught her in a phone call with _Mistress,_ she felt like another person altogether. And Isono Tanaka, despite being a chauffeur, was the type of a man who hides a number of weapons in his room and brought a gun with him everywhere he went. The chauffeur was the type he and Amy jokingly called Rolland; for that would make him fitting for a western espionage movie scene.

And here was Koji, who used to be a jobless 26 year old with a hobby for cooking. He never knew when he gave that cooking job on a flyer a chance that he would be working for a Kaiba. Domino was a peaceful place where everyone knew each other; so he didn’t expect to see the infamous Seto Kaiba there let alone knew how to serve him like a true Kaiba employee. What is expected of him now that he is a part of this family? Amy and Mr. Tanaka acted like they were ready to give their lives for The Kaiba heir. And somehow… that sentiment was contagious.

Before Koji was given the chance to decide, the front door opened with a soft click; surprising both Koji and Amy. Seto Kaiba entered with his usual brisk yet flowy pace. His hair was a bit ruffled, but it didn’t diminish his composed handsome features. Not that Koji failed to notice the fury that seemed to be seething under his visage.

“Seto!” Amy exclaimed in alarm, “What did you do?”

The Young Master blatantly ignored her and made his way upstairs. Amy wouldn’t let him off the hook easily. She grabbed his arm, “Tell me what you’ve done!”

Mr. Tanaka entered right then, but kept his presence unnoticed. The Young Master snapped his head at Amy and glared. “None of your business, woman!”

“We both know why I’m sent to watch over you! So, Goddamnit, Seto, if you left anything without noticing me, I don’t know what I’ll do,” she was breaching an unknown and restricted territory to Koji. She always knew how to push the teen’s button. Mostly, she hinted that Seto Kaiba had done a grave mistake in the past.

Not that Koji knew what that mistake happened to be.

Koji was feeling uncomfortable. He was not there to witness his employer being judged by his guardian.

Amy, however, continued, “Now tell me what you did to that kid after you took him to a middle of nowhere!”

“Nothing!!” The Kaiba heir growled. He gritted his teeth and tried to maintain his calm so he could force out his explanation, “I took him out, and we talked”. He pulled his arm out of Amy’s grasp with brute force, “Then I dropped him by the school. Now let me go”.

“Like I’ll believe that. You’re telling me you didn’t even land a punch on him? Do you tjink I'm stupid?” Amy was livid. The Young Master was halfway reaching the stairs when he turned around to answer her.

“I wanted to, but I didn’t”.

“Pfh, fuck you. You’ve done worse than that”.

Koji noted the teen’s clenched fist. “I couldn’t,” He looked like he wanted to say more, but stopped midway. His fury was changed to hesitation in an instant. “It’s his face”.

“His face,” Amy repeated flatly.

“His face looked like it… never got punched before, so I stopped”.

Amy was gaping at the teen. The latter didn’t plan to entertain her interrogation any further though. He turned his back on them and resumed his escape with a short, “I’ll be in my room”, leaving Amy to fume as she prepared for another long rant.

Later on they learned from Mr. Tanaka the Young Master had told exactly as what happened. There was a minor scuffle, he said, but nothing alarming. Koji remembered exchanging confused looks with Amy the whole day – because honestly, why would you push a guy into your car, took him somewhere far and desolate, only to talk?

“Who is this guy that defeated Mr. Kaiba again?” Koji questioned. Amy waved a hand dismissively.

"You wouldn’t know him anyway”.

* * *

 

But he did know the guy.

It was when Seto Kaiba surprised them with a short notice that he’s inviting the mysterious guy home. It was a first for Seto Kaiba to entertain someone to his house in Domino. Everyone was frantically preparing. Koji was told to prepare a three course western dinner. Ms. Rosie, the old widow hired to clean the house on a daily basis, made sure every inch of the house was pristine. Chiba, the young gardener, was not present for he only works three times a week, but he texted Koji to bid him good luck. Everyone was slightly nervous, for no one knew what kind of man would be able to inflict such strong reactions from the usually cold and aloof Seto Kaiba. The only one who was known to have such power was Mokuba Kaiba.

... Only for them to find the older Mutou stepping inside the Kaiba’s home with a polite “Excuse me” as he followed closely behind the head of the house. The hair was a huge giveaway to his identity. Everyone from Domino would recognize that hair.

“Isn’t that the older Mutou? The kid from the game shop?” Koji asked Ms. Rosie silently as they peeked from the kitchen that happened to be connected to the foyer area. Their eyes followed the two boys, still in their uniform, going inside the study.

“Oh my! It is! It has been awhile since I last heard from The Mutous. Last I saw them is at Mana’s memorial,” Ms. Rosie replied.

Mana Mutou, the only daughter of Solomon Mutou who perished in a tomb raid in Egypt when she was only 23. She was known to be a bright girl with some quirks and was as eccentric as her father. She left the elder Mutou with two grandsons though, the boys she had with a man with a strange name she met in Egypt (Ahmad? Mahad?).

It was said that the Mahad guy finally planned to marry her in Egypt, only for them to disappear in the middle of a tomb raid. No one knew what happened to her or the father of her children afterwards. The Mutou’s had only broken their silence a couple of years ago. Solomon finally held a funeral for her to come in peace with their lost. It’s been years since her disappearance; it was time for everyone to let go.

"Huh,” Koji furrowed his eyebrows, “Do you think Mutou was the one to beat The Young Master?” Beside, he’s the one happened to be invited inside by the Young Master just now, wasn’t he?

“I don’t know,” Ms. Rosie admitted. They both watched on as the two high school boys appeared in their line of sight through the glasses partition between the hallway and the study. They seemed to be in a civil discussion; in fact they enjoyed their selves.

Koji and Ms. Rosie exchanged a look as though wondering how this youth from their modest town could pull the Young Master out of his shell.

* * *

  
So imagine Koji’s surprise when Amy told him two months later that the two boys were dating.

Koji was in the middle of bringing towels and blankets to the guest room at the time. He dropped the towels to a tray and squinted at the assistant, “You’re saying they’d share Mr. Kaiba’s room,” Koji questioned, “You do realize there’s only a queen-sized bed in that room”.

Most boys don’t enjoy sharing one bed with another guy. Yami Mutou would spend the night at The Kaiba’s that night so that he, The Young Master, and Amy Dunn would be able to travel to their next tournament as early as they can the next day. It’s rather rude to tell him to sleep with the head of the house when they have an empty guest room sitting idly.

Amy rolled her eyes, “Yes. But they’re dating anyway right?”

Koji gawked, “They… are?”

“Have been for awhile. Cute huh?” She strolled through the hallway and stopped to give him a last reminder, “Join us for a chat tonight, would you? You’re staying the night after all”.

Koji was too dumbfounded to properly digest the invitation. “Sure,” he said silently, hurrying to the guest room shortly after.

"Oh my! They’ve made it official at last!” Ms. Rosie gushed once he told her the news.

“You don’t seem surprised”.

“Well, if you count the many times they do that thing kids do when they like someone, you wouldn’t be surprised. They really couldn’t hold back,” the middle aged woman chuckled, “It’s cute”.

Koji’s brows met in confusion. He stood witness to lots of those two’s exchanges as he was the one to serve them treats when Mutou was over. And Mutou was over plenty of times after that first time. At some point, even the silent Mr. Tanaka called The older Mutou ‘Yami’ and the ever strict Amy was willing to voice her drunken cackle in front of the teen. The teen became somewhat of a regular member of the Kaiba household in the short course of two months.

So far, Koji had never seen anything remotely romantic between those two. In fact, they low-key argued half of the time (mostly about duel monsters). When they sat face to face, it would be with their backs to their seat as though meaning to put a lot of space between them.

“What thing?” Koji asked Ms. Rosie as he failed to register what she meant.

“That thing under the table! The knee bumping and foot poking they often do,” she smiled, “Last time my son did that to a girl, he was trying to ask her out”.

Koji blinked stupidly. Surely, the old woman couldn’t think people bump knees to flirt? But then again, Koji couldn’t imagine intentionally bumping another guy’s knee. It was the rule of thumb between men to mind your own business and keep your own space.

So could he really missed something between those two?

Whatever it was, Koji found it hard to keep his eyes off of the boys bumping knees that night after a delicious lobster dinner at The Kaiba’s. They were sitting at the living room enjoying Koji’s specialty three layered chocolate mousse for dessert. By default, the boys were reserved the only love seat in the room while Amy lounged on the lazy chair and Koji and Mr. Tanaka shared the longest couch. Koji noted that he and Mr. Tanaka kept their distance even though they shared the same seat. The Young Master and Mutou was not rubbing their selves to one another either; but they were certainly sitting too close with such ease. And even though these two had their attentions away from one another; as Kaiba was busy texting and Mutou was too immersed in his conversation with Amy to care; their knees bumped – in the most insistent and repetitive ways a pair of knees could get.

Now that he paid so much attention to it, Koji somehow felt indecent. _Get ahold of yourself, Koji!_  He scolded himself, _This isn’t two boys making out on the couch. This is two boys sitting side by side, so why are you flushing??_

“Right Koji?”

Koji perked up, “Huh?”

Amy giggled in a drunken haze, “I said, we’ve been insisting to call Mr. Tanaka with his first name, but he never lets us,” she cocked her head, “Isono doesn’t sound so bad”.

Mr. Tanaka didn’t answer instantly, but when he did he said, “It’s Mr. Tanaka”.

Amy laughed. “I know, Rolland suits you much better. You’re too mysterious to be called Isono”. Koji laughed, and Mutou could be heard joining in with his airy laughter next to a smiling Seto Kaiba.

“Rolland kinda fit,” the tricolor haired teen said, “Even though you’re Japanese. I mean, Mom used to call me with a weird name too. God knows that’s the name Mahad gave us, which she ignored to scorn him for not coming when we were born”.

It was the first time Koji ever heard about Mana directly from a Mutou in the years of her disappearance. Understandably, it was midnight and everyone was too sleepy to be able to control what they say.The noy might not plan to turn the conversation to this direction too; but it had.

By Amy and Mr. Tanaka’s reactions, Koji suspected they had done their research on The Mutou’s to understand the circumstances. Amy was the first to gather herself. “I’m sorry about your mom,” she started, but Mutou waved it off.

“No worries. We’ve gotten over it a long time ago. It’s time for us to start speaking about her normally again, I think,” Mutou explained. The mood of the conversation turned somber, but not grim. Seto Kaiba was the first to make a move. He turned in his seat so he could see the side of the other teen’s face clearly and landed one arm on the back of the seat.

“What did she call you?” He asked.

Mutou arched an eyebrow, “Do not. The moment I tell you, you’d try saying it and it’ll sound ridiculous”.

“Try me,” Kaiba challenged. The two boys were staring at each other intensely until Mutou opened his mouth.

“It’s Atem”.

It sounded foreign to everyone in the room. It sounded Arabic, though Koji wasn’t sure if Egyptian was rooted from Arabs. A long silence ensued as everyone had a pondering look. They were silently testing the name on their tongue.

“I knew it,” Mutou said forlornly, “Just don’t. You guys are going to make a poor attempt at saying it to my face”.

_“Atem”._

The Young Master said suddenly; surprising everyone at his perfect pronunciation. Mutou instantly took a good look at his alleged lover. There was a curious smile on his face.

“You’ve failed tremendously,” he snorted; which was a lie, for everyone heard how perfect that was.

“It’s perfect and you know it,” Seto Kaiba insisted. There was no venom in his exclaim. It sounded too… affectionate.

“Fuck you. I know better “.

“My mom wanted to name me differently too,” Seto Kaiba said finally. The conversation seemed to be specifically aimed at the other boy than to everyone in the room, “But Granny wanted her grandchildren to have Japanese name, so she changed it to suit a typical Japanese name”.

“I never heard about this from The Mistress,” Amy stated. Koji somehow discovered Mistress might be The Young Master’s grandmother.

“What was it?” Mutou seemed curious. Seto Kaiba smiled.

“Seth”.

Mutou scowled. “There’s nothing silly in that name!” Then he chuckled, “Wait, it’s the same name. That means she only changed the pronunciation!” Mutou swung his upper torso toward the taller teen, almost looking like he was hugging the other as he smothered his laughter to the brunette’s chest, “That’s hilarious! How stubborn could your Granny get?”

 _Stubborn enough to make a woman like Amy Dunn to abide to her call_ , Koji silently answered. Amy Dunn seemed relaxed though. She even laughed along.

“Boys, it’s almost twelve. Come on, go to bed. We have an early flight to catch,” Amy reminded after catching the time. Kaiba stood from his seat while Mutou lounged around on the love seat with a lazy smile directed to his lover.

“Be a boyfriend and take me to my room,” he told the taller teen. Kaiba looked down at his lover.

“What’re you talking about? You’re going to my room”.

Mutou paused. “Where are you sleeping then?”

Kaiba gave him a deadpanned look. “My room”.

“What? We’re sharing the bed?”

“Duhh,” The Kaiba heir made his way out of the room; expecting the other boy to follow, “It’s not like we’ll be doing anything but sleep. C’mon”. Meanwhile Mutou was looking at his boyfriend’s back with a look of wander, curiosity, and doubt at the same time.

Amy chuckled at the shorter boy’s behavior. “What to worry about? You guys are dating,”

The boy glanced at Amy skeptically. Seto Kaiba poked his head into the living room at that exact moment. “What are you waiting for?” He shot rather rudely, to which Mitou huffed to gain his cool and stood up.

“Fine,” the shorter teen muttered. He approached the other with his head high; definitely facing the unknown with his pride intact.

As he watched the two boys going upstairs, Koji wondered what to think after what he witnessed. Seto Kaiba truly doesn’t mind the other’s proximity. In fact, it seemed like he cherishes it. The way he let the other almost hug him in front of other people and invited him to his bed were definitely something. Mutou seemed surprised at the other’s boldness though. Not strange at all; most teenagers in Domino are very sheltered and well-mannered. Even the bullies never went too far. As an ex-bully himself, Koji knew this for sure (He even became a cook for God’s sake). And because of that, Mutou would feel inadequate and unsure about a lot of things his lover brought to the table.

“Well, I’ll be catching some Zs myself. If you excuse me, gentlemen,” Amy left the room with a wink. Koji and Mr. Tanaka retired soon after; Mr. Tanaka to his room and Koji to one of the guestrooms.

* * *

By 4 in the morning, Koji was already roaming upstairs to wake up the rest of the household. It took awhile for Amy to finally drag herself off of her bed. She still had a mud mask covering her whole face when she groaned toward Koji.

Koji hastily said, “I’m off to wake the boys,” then left her room.

He realized that this would be the first time for him to have a look inside the master bedroom. He knocked softly on the door, but no sound could be heard from the inside. They were running out of time; so Koji slowly opened the door. Honestly, he didn’t want to catch the Young Master in a compromising situation with his lover after all. But this was his last resort.

“Sir?” Koji called silently into the dark room. The light from the bright hallway coursed into the room; making its way to the bed and exposed both The Young Master and his lover to the house’s cook.

Seto Kaiba had an arm splayed over toward his lover’s torso as Mutou turned his head slightly toward the taller teen. The brunette’s other arm was folded not far on top of Mutou’s head. Legs were poking out of the duvet and tangled like yarn. There was something boyish yet awfully… adorable about these two that Koji find it hard to break them up for a wake up call. Had he mentioned that, from the sleeve of Mutou’s shirt, Koji noted that the teen borrowed Kaiba’s pajama?

“Sir?” He called again. This time, he got a reaction. Mutou flinched and grunted before turning fully toward his lover and sunk his face to the other boy’s chest. Like a reflexive response, Seto Kaiba quickly moved the arm that was outreached toward the other boy to catch the other's head and tuck him close. The taller teen’s eyes snapped open. They roamed around the room in alert and stopped at Koji.

“It’s time to wake up, Sir,” Koji reminded. The brunette grunted and wiped his face. Koji caught him nodding in the middle of a yawn.

“Breakfast will be ready in half an hour. Ms. Amy asked for her breakfast to be brought to her room. Would you like for yours to be brought in or would you like to have it downstairs, Sir?”

The young Kaiba paused to rub his eyes. “Just take it here. Thanks”.

“Okay, Sir”. Koji bowed and left the room. Amy had told him that Seto Kaiba was the type who won’t return to sleep once woken up. So it was fine to leave and check in after he prepared breakfast.

Breakfast was made light and simple that early morning for no one had an appetite at these hours. Koji carried trays of bite-sized fruits, mini pastries, bread, and choices of jams and butter. All three preferred coffee over tea, so he had them with him too along with a small pot of milk.

Amy was in the middle of doing her makeup when he put her tray onto her coffee table. He reminded her to be ready in half an hourr. and that Mr. Tanaka was already preparing the car. The next task would be complicated, as Koji had no idea what to expect. He took a breathe in front of the master bedroom and knocked.

No one answered, but he heard laughter from the inside. So he opened the door slightly and peeked.

Seto Kaiba was wrestling his lover, it seemed. Nothing serious – for the two were laughing. He had his two arms around the shorter’s waist and basically pulled the latter's feet off of the ground. Mutou flailed his arms. It was interesting to note that his white shirt was unbuttoned.

“Seto, quit it! Fuck, I’m serious!!”

Soft punches were sent behind to Kaiba’s biceps, but all the taller did was wrestle him further. “Just show me a little,” Seto Kaiba could be heard saying. Mutou was cackling, but he fought back with equal fervor. If not for Koji coughing to catch their attention, the boys would probably keep going.

“Your breakfast is ready,” He informed the two. Kaiba automatically let the other boy go; making Mutou stumble down. The latter scratched his head in embarrassment. He looked away from Koji and walked to the master bathroom.

“I’ll change in the bathroom,” he announced silently. Kaiba, who was already seated by the coffee table where Koji put down their breakfast, scoffed at the departing teen. “I’ve told him he could change here. The fuck’s his problem with me watching?” He hissed.

 _Maybe you’re moving things too soon_ , was what Koji wanted to say, but didn’t. Maybe it was normal for kids in Tokyo to move so fast in their relationship. Really, this Young Master kept on surprising Koji again and again.

“The car will be ready in half an hour, Sir. Mr. Tanaka will be here soon to take your luggage,” Koji said. He received a nod and a silent wave of dismissal.

He proceed downstairs to prepare some foods that could be stored in the freezer for Mr. Tanaka to reheat every time he wanted. Now that The Young Master and his assistant will be out of town, Koji didn’t to come everyday to cook. Mr. Tanaka told him he liked exploring the town anyway, so he might not spend much time eating home.

Not half an hour later, Yami Mutou appeared in the living room. He caught Koji from the side of his eyes and froze. Their eyes fully met now. Mutou looked away after nodding timidly in acknowledgement.

_Ah, he’s embarrassed about earlier._

Koji left the kitchen to wait for everyone by the stairs. Mutou stood by the couch with his hips leaning to the side of the seat. He tried to act cool, but he was obviouy trying to avoid eye contact with Koji. Koji was rather nervous too now that they were in the same room. He also noted that Mutou seemed to be wearing his employer’s jacket.

The young Kaiba arrived downstairs following his loud steps on the stairs. He paused two steps from the ground floor to glare at everyone. “Ugh, she’s not ready yet, isn’t she?” He was talking about Amy.

“Be nicer to her, will you? Let her be,” Mutou chimed. Kaiba hissed.

“You’d hate her too if you were me”.

Mutou smiled to himself as though he was capable of reading the hidden message behind the other’s words. Everyone who knew Seto Kaiba knew well enough he saw Amy like a mother figure if not a sister.

They then sunk into a long silence as they waited for Amy to come down. It’s not that there was nothing to talk about; it’s just that no one was in the mood to converse this early in the morning. Kaiba stood next to the stairs. His arms were crossed as he looked down to his feet.

“I’m not holding back”.

It was Seto Kaiba. And there was no one else he could be addressing but the other teen in the room. Despite their established relationship, there was no warmth in his voice just then. The humor and affectionate from earlier were absent from his expression. Instead, he sounded detached, cold, and determined.

“I want to make this clear to you. I won’t be holding back to defeat you,” Kaiba continued.  
Mutou has yet to respond. If the proclamation bothered him, he didn’t show it. He kept his posture calm and steady by the couch. “I’m not holding back either,” he stood to his full height. This time, he looked at his supposed lover with such fierceness that even Koji felt his breath hitch.

“If I have the chance to be in a match with you, I’ll beat you again and again in front of everyone,” he said with such possessiveness. Seto Kaiba looked up to return the boy’s stare to glare to fullest capacity.

They, Koji thought, were not just two lovers. They were rivals first, and lovers second.

Amy Dunn appeared right at that moment with her Louis Vuitton bag in hand. “What are you doing here? Is the car ready?”

Everyone turned to her. “We’re waiting for you, woman,” Kaiba growled.

“Mr. Tanaka has been outside for,” Koji checked his watch, “Fifteen minutes. Your luggage is in the car. We’re prepared to go”.

“Ah, I see,” Amy said without a care to her tardiness. She checked her phone for their schedule. “We’re still on schedule though, because I timed everything a bit early. We’ll be driving all the way to the private hangar out of town. That takes one and a half hour. Then we’ll fly to Mr. Pegasus private island. That’ll take about five hours,” she pursed her lips, “Remind me to take the souvenir with me when I greet Mr. Pegasus. Your Granny will be so disappointed if I forgot to bring it to him the first thing after arriving”.

The Young Master sighed as he led them all out of the house, “Fine. As long as you don’t take me with you”.

“No way! You wouldn’t let me face that creep alone, would you??”

* * *

**TBC.**


	8. The Assistant's Helping Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. This chapter takes place right after the previous chapter.
> 
> 2\. This was meant to be funny. But if it failed to reach that standard, then I apologize. I have a weird sense of humor

 

* * *

THE ASSISTANT'S HELPING HAND

* * *

Amy prided herself as someone who knew of Seto's many faces since he moved to Domino. She knew the  _ghostly_  Seto, the one that floated silently to his room after school and the one that just realized his family threw him away. There's also the determined Seto, the one who saw the opportunity behind the invitation to his first tournament after awhile; the one who started building his deck once again. Then there's the angry Seto; this one was the Seto who rebelled at the idea of losing a duel.

But nowadays Seto was showing an expression she didn't recognize. She couldn't put a finger on it. She didn't understand what it is.

For one, Seto started talking more and he went outside more. He even informed her he planned to join the student council. Strange. She knew for sure Seto had never joined an afterschool activity before.

So when the teen showed her the unrecognizable expression one particular morning on their way to school, she was on the ready. With one handheld tablet in hand and a focused look pointed to her email, she feigned disinterest.

"So I've been thinking…," the brown haired teen started as he looked out of the car window.

"Hmm," Amy hummed.  _Spill._

"… of asking someone out".

Amy halted whatever she was doing to get a nice look on the boy sitting across from him. So this is what that look on your face implied, her heart proclaimed. Surely, he didn't think she would let him be that easily after that scandal with  _Saki Ono._  But Seto Kaiba is intelligent, no, a genius. If he had decided to confide in Amy, he would have put much thought on it.

Unless, he was planning to ask Amy out instead. After all, human behavior followed a pattern. And out of all possibilities, Amy was the most fitting candidate.

"Someone I know?" She asked. Seto sent her a sideway glance.

"Yes".

She swallowed. If the boy dared ask her out, she would show him some judo moves.

"I've been planning to ask them out for a while, actually," Seto added. He seemed wistful. "Been courting them too".

Now that she thought about it, hadn't he started joining her, Mr. Tanaka, and Koji on their nightly drinking since last week? Hopefully that didn't count as courting.

"But they're a bit different, so I've been rethinking my plan".

Amy coughed. "How different is this person you're talking about?"

Seto's gaze hardened. "Stubborn," he grunted in displeasure. Amy shifted in her seat and rolled her eyes.  _They better not be me._

"I'm going to ask today," he said in a final tone while crossing his arms and closing his eyes. Amy glared at the brilliantly chiseled face.

"Who is it?" Her voice addressed the elephant in the room. Mr. Tanaka had to be listening in from the front seat too. They both knew not to repeat the past mistake or they'd be the target of a certain  _Mistress'_  fury.

"Yami," he answered with such confidence.

Amy dropped the tablet on her lap and crossed her arms too. The two of them exchanged a look in silence; both trying to read into the other's expression.

"Okay," she said, "To be honest, I didn't see that coming. Yami  _is_  a guy".

Seto shrugged. One of his uncles, a Kaiba who majored in the fashion industry, married another guy abroad years ago. Strangely enough, it boosted their company's popularity in America and in other major western market. But the weirdest of all was to have Japan silently accepting the news. Their sales and stock were unaffected; and the worst they got was being accused of having "the rich people's antics".

Maybe Japan had grown from that collective and conservative nation to a country where someone's life is no longer everybody's business. It's that; or the public had long deemed the Kaibas too rich to relate to.

Then again, it's not like it should be a problem. Same sex relationship isn't illegal in Japan. Thus whoever Seto chose as his partner, their gender may not be much of a problem. Unless The Great Mistress said otherwise, of course.

Yet, out of all best arguments to choose, he said, "He's nice to look at".

"Certainly," Amy agreed, "So…, considering the situation with his gender and all, how do you plan to proceed?"

"I'm planning to just kiss him".

Amy eyed him questioningly, but nodded soon after. "He seems like a passionate guy". A momentary silence followed, until Amy cut it short. "I hope you know that's hardly enough. Kiss him deep".

"Hn".

"Show him you're more than capable to satisfy".

"Hn".

A momentary silence took place.

"The sex is particularly… interesting," the young Kaiba muttered suddenly, "But I have done my research. Yami will be a happy boyfriend. That, I'm certain".

Amy hummed in approval. The matter of Yami's sexual orientation - if he's even gay, for example – was somehow left unquestioned. Because when you're a Kaiba; or a Kaiba employee, for that matter; you'd be that confident in a Kaiba's charm. Seto's success in his quest for Yami's attention was irrefutable in their mind.

* * *

There was a moment where Seto practically boasted about the first kiss he shared with Yami (in which Amy and Mr. Tanaka held their drinks up in celebration to the young man's successful conquest), and that moment where Amy counted the rising number of love notes pinned on top of Seto's bed (Yami slipped him one every couple of days). All that, she had to say, were the achievements she was proud of. It took her a couple of peek to the two boys text messages to get a full grasp of the two, but after that she executed date plans and booked restaurants like it was a breeze (and yes, she did that all for the boys). If not for her, Seto wouldn't be happily tucked in bed with his boyfriend singing lulaby through the phone every night. Everyone should hand her the best personal assistant of the year at this point. Honestly, could you find a better personal assistant than her?

The only thing that was out of her calculation is the news Seto brought to her one sunny day afterschool. It was onlu a couple of days before Duelist Kingdom. She was tapping madly on her phone, and Seto didn't enter the car acting like he had bad news in hand. In fact, the first thing he said to her after entering the car was how ticklish Yami was on the neck. She hummed like a dignified 30 year old and continued organizing the house' schedule for the time she and Seto would spend at Duelist Kingdom.

Then the brunette said, "So I found out today".

"Hmmm," she nodded encouragingly.

"That Yami's a virgin".

She paused and looked up from her phone. That's a bit problematic. "Well then, that hot kiss confession was a bit of a miss, wasn't it?" Maybe they should have gone for a romantic date before Seto scored a yes out of the boy. Virgins like that kind of stuff.

Seto hummed silently; eyes pointed to his mobile in the middle of texting Yami. So maybe Seto thought he is satisfied with having Yami by his side. But for a personal assistant as great as she is, things were never good enough.

"You need to impress," she muttered, hands already busy texting emails to make arrangements, "Let's cancel the tickets Pegasus booked for us and fly with your jet". Seto stopped texting to give her his full attention. Sorry to steal your boyfriend for a moment, Yami; it's for your own good.

"I'll take him to the cockpit," Seto said.

"I'll get Koji to prepare his favorite dinner," Amy added.

"And I'll convince him to sleep in my room," Seto continued.

The assistant and her employer shared a look then nodded. A new goal was added to the assistant's agenda; and boy was it a challenging one.

* * *

Then here they were inside Seto's privately owned jet; eyes heavy and bone tired after a long car ride to the hangar. And after all that effort she gave to get them all there with a yawning Yami in toe; Seto repaid her with ignorance. Don't get her wrong. She's happy to help Seto: with Yami being a gorgeous eye-candy and a nice piece of entertainment to have at the flight. But after all that time she held back from pointing out Yami's pet name for him ('Blue Eyes') and the moments she deliberately missed where she could spill to Yami his (out of all names, Seto secretly dubbed Yami 'Pound-cake'); the least Seto could do is pour her a drink or two as thanks.

Instead, all he said to Amy on the car ride was; "Why do you have to go with us again?"

It seemed like Seto forgot she work for his grandmother, who is best friend with Pegasus. Thus, she had to go to represent The Mistress' goodwill.

On entering the jet plane, Amy breezed through the pilot and the flight assistant with a yawned, "Good morning," while Seto walked ahead after a slight nod. The American woman followed The Young Master to the four seats arranged face to face with a dining table in between. Seto took one seat next to the window. By default, Amy felt like taking the seat next to him and was ready to give him a long complain. Before she was able to, however, Seto dropped his coat on that seat then sat himself on his picked spot right next to it. Amy halted and sent him a look. The brunette returned it with a flat look himself.

 _Rude,_  Amy thought. She moved to the seat facing him instead, not forgetting to land her handbag nicely on the seat next to hers.

Because he had to make a call outside, Yami arrived a bit later after them. Seto hurriedly put away the coat he dropped on the seat next to him. He offered the other boy a charming smile and the most gentle greeting ever heard from Seto's mouth. It was a courtesy Amy rarely sees on the youth's daily behavior that, in the midst of her annoyance at him, she genuinely thought he was like Prince Charming.

"How's the call?" Seto asked his lover.

Yami smiled – and Goddamnit, if she wasn't an adult, Amy would jeer at how cheesy these two were being. "Yugi's a bit mad I forgot to inform him about the flight. He almost book me a commercial flight there".

Seto rolled his eyes, "It should be obvious I'd arrange a full travel plan for us once I invited you for a sleepover. Even if I don't have a private jet, I'd make sure you'd arrive safely to the tournament".

Yami settled to the seat Seto reserved for him with a gushed aww, in a way that would surprise you if you never knew his real character. The gesture was returned by Seto with a smile that was a full reminder of that boy you date in 8th grade. Amy coughed. The moment felt so saccharine sweet that she felt like drinking the leftover taste away and bit down the fact that she was the one who does all that dirty job of booking and cancelling reservations.

The magic went poof the next moment Seto opened his mouth though.

"That's still too long for you two to mourn over your forgetfulness. You and Yugi had been discussing duel strategies perhaps?" Seto sent Yami a dirty look. Yami shrugged playfully. Seto returned the cocky answer with a smirk of his two were promising each other the worst on the tournament it seemed.

The first thing the two did after the jet took off was discuss famous duelists strategies until they fell asleep. They woke around the same time, but Seto was the first to rose from his seat to grab his case from the overhead cabin. He then stepped across Yami to go to the seat on the farthest corner in the flight cabin. Yami copied him soon after. He pulled a small intricate golden box from his bag and went to the long seat next to the mini bar.

The boys could be seen reviewing their decks; all the while secretly sending determined looks toward one another. Amy realized something. Forget the fact that they had acted cuddly moments before; now, these two had the other to beat on the forefront of their mind. Seto could even be seen taking a special box from inside his case of cards. From the way he gazed between the box and Yami, Amy suspected the deck inside that box was the one he specially built to defeat his own lover.

It took them around half an hour before Seto walked to the other boy. "Want to visit the cockpit?" He asked.

Yami was already closing his card's case; "Can I?"

You could practically smell the pride reeking out of Seto. He was doing his best to impress; and made it - At least, by the sparkle in Yami's eyes he did. "They'd even let you co-pilot," he told Yami.

Both boys walked to the cockpit discussing duel monsters for the hundredth time that day. Amy was drinking on her own when they passed by her.  _Ignorant fools,_  she thought. But then Yami bent down to her and smiled.

"Catch you later, Ame".

Amy froze. Why was her heart thumping harder again?

"Must be the alcohol," she muttered to herself as she watched them disappear behind the cockpit door, "They're lucky they're cute. I wouldn't have bothered otherwise".

At least Yami's smile could last her for the day. If she was to be left alone with that ungrateful Seto, she'd drank triple the number of alcohol she just finished.

* * *

**TBC.**


	9. Duelists' Most Talked Duo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long notes at the end! Please read till the end! I promise it's not a goodbye Author Note.

 

* * *

DUELISTS' MOST TALKED DUO

* * *

 

"What's your speculation for this year's Duelist Kingdom?"

"Well, for one, Kaiba never failed to win every competition he partook in".

"Except for the last tournament".

"Except for the last tournament; true".

Alister, who had been silently observing the conversation, clucked his tongue before taking a sip of his drink. Balfry grinned at him, "Who knows, maybe this year you too will get a chance to beat Kaiba, Alister".

Alister rolled his eyes.  _You wish,_  he thought. He placed third last year. "Don't forget, there's still Malik," Alister muttered in boredom as he pointed his chin toward last year's second place.

"Yes, there's still Malik. Though I have to say he looks different this year. He looks crazy," Insector Haga commented while turning his head to have a nice peek at Malik. The latter was lounging by the pool; "You know what, considering this year's line up, it's probable that this year's Duelist Kingdom's top 5 would be a repeat of last year".

Esper Roba shrugged, "You never know. Besides, isn't  _he_  present? Yami Mutou? He might be able to stir up the competition".

Alister hissed silently after hearing that name. He didn't know how that Mutou guy did it, but he for sure couldn't have beaten Kaiba any other day. "Everyone is saying they couldn't wait for another face off between Mutou and Kaiba. I know I am looking forward to that," Balfry grinned. After all, he missed the tournament in Tokyo where Kaiba lost so he didn't witness it himself.

Alister growled, "Then he'll have to face me and Malik first". The people who heard him seemed surprised at his outburst. Thankfully, Valon came to his rescue.

"C'mere mate. There's someone you ought to meet," he said with a tilt of his head. Alister nodded lightly before leaving the other duelists. He and Valon walked across the rooftop pool area, where a bunch of duelists were entertaining their selves by swimming or lounging under the sun. Further away you'd see circles of younger duelists playing mock duels and trading cards.

That area alone could accommodate the whole 250 duelists who were present to get afternoon refreshments and pass time before the gala dinner. This was, after all, Pegasus luxury cruise ship; it was big enough to hold 250 duelist and 4000 spectators that would be on board the next day. Really, Pegasus never shies away from flaunting his riches.

"So whom do you want me to meet?" Alister asked as they entered the pool's lobby. Oh he wished it wasn't Mai. Everyone was sick of hearing Valon yapping about Mai and how he'd get her to join Doma under Dartz' management soon.

Valon took his time waving at random duelists who recognized him. Doma, a team of duelist managed by Dartz, were quite famous. And Valon placed fifth in last year's Duelist Kingdom. "Someone you've heard about, no doubt," Valon smiled proudly as they took the elevator. Once the elevator door closed behind them, Valon added, "Yami Mutou".

"Geez," Alister grunted. Could someone be anymore overrated in the span of only half a day? The cruise ship where the tournament took place had only left the dock two hours ago!

"Now now. I know you get a bit defensive when it comes to the race toward beating Kaiba. But boss man is the one who insists to have him introduced to all of us," Valon cheered him up; though he must be doing it to make fun of Alister. Their relationship wasn't really the best. "Anyhow, could you believe out of all people, Mutou was acquainted to Rafael first. And Rafael addressed him with such respect too! They might even be friends".

Alister arched an eyebrow. Really? Rafael? Rafael placed under Alister as fourth place last year, but Alister doubted if he ever showed his full potential. The guy was known to be the most unreadable amongst Doma. So to see him to open up to someone was clearly something new.

"I mean, after seeing Mutou battle Kaiba, who wouldn't respect him and want to get to know him? I was blown, mate. It was on another level. Bandit Keith speaks about him in high regards. That stuck up arrogant! Complimenting someone else beside himself!" Valon ranted on, "Have you seen the livestream? Ugh, and Rafael was the only one lucky enough to watch that on the spot!"

Alister snorted, "I don't need to watch it to change my opinion of him". He glared at Valon, "He's a competitor; all the more for us to beat him".

"Nah, mate. Nah. Boss Dartz thinks the other way. Have you heard the rumors?"

Alister heard a lot of rumors since he arrived for the tournament. Seto Kaiba was always the talk of the century for duelists around the world; and whoever defeated him would be granted the same amount of attention. But Alister would rather say anything nice about Valon (which would take a lot out of him) than spout those nonsensical rumors himself. "No," he answered finally, even though he knew otherwise.

Valon grinned cheekily, "Everyone has been talking about it. Yami Mutou and Seto Kaiba arrived on the scene together".

"Psh, the one I saw tailing Kaiba when he arrived earlier was that lady assistant," Alister insisted. It was such an entrance too. Everyone in the cruise' lobby practically went silent when Kaiba entered the scene and floated by them. People parted to make way for him; breathes were held; and a soft buzz of murmurs waved through them. It was the effect Kaiba had on most duelists. They regarded him at an equal term to Pegasus after all.

He didn't linger that long, if Alister wasn't mistaken. He entered the room; checked in with the clerk; and made a beeline to the elevator along with his assistant. "And wasn't his assistant Japanese before? This one's prettier though. With a chick like her on his side, I wonder why people keep on making those rumors about him".

The elevator gave a soft  _ding_  before it opened to reveal the floor where most of the restaurants and lounges are. Valon led him out, "Maybe because it's the truth. They didn't enter the cruise together, but people saw Kaiba and Mutou getting out of the same car," the brown haired guy claimed.

"Maybe they mistook the assistant for Mutou".

"Pffh, have you seen Mutou? You wouldn't miss him for anyone else with that hair!" Valon led him across the hall. Alister had yet to see what the guy looks like. But he was there in the lobby when some people created a fuss for Mutou's arrival. It was nothing like Kaiba's entrance. Still, it's certainly strange to see some of the best duelists racing to shake hands with a duelist that just debuted. Most duelists, especially high ranked ones, don't mingle with lesser duelists.

But then again, both Kaiba and Mutou had been the talk of the year among duelists. With them both being in the same vicinity not long after Kaiba's infamous defeat, you'd expect everyone to shove their faces onto these two. The only difference was, Kaiba's fame and icy personality made him an untouchable deity. Mutou, on the other hand, was known to be friendly and approachable.

"Seriously though. I was there next to Kaiba when he checked in at the invited participants' registration desk. And you know what I heard?" Valon continued with a smirk, "He's asking the receptionist to move Mutou to his room".

Alister blinked.  _What?_

"And after the clerk reminded him that their luxury suite only have one bed, Kaiba growled at her saying, 'You think I didn't know that?'. The clerks did their best to appease him after that!" Valon chuckled.

"What are insinuating?" Alister probed silently once they stopped not far from an exclusive lounge. He added, "Not once did I see them interact for the time they spent in the lobby". Mutou was busy catering to curious duelists and Kaiba immediately disappeared from view after checking in, most likely to see Pegasus.

"I'm saying," Valon took a deep breath and land a hand on the wall facing them, "There might be something between Kaiba and Mutou". He paused just as long as Alister held his breath. "Whatever it is between them, it's probably the closest anyone could get with Kaiba. We all know he's unapproachable. And Boss Dartz has been wanting Kaiba to join Doma. We really can't risk it with words of The Ishtar's starting their own agency for duelists," Valon continued.

So far, Doma was the only existing duelists team under an agency where duelists are managed, trained, and introduced to sponsors to make better money. They may not be the number one duelist out there (that spot is Kaiba's), but with their shared fame they make the most money as duelists. With The Ishtar's planning to build a team under their own agency too, they might be facing a huge competition. The only way to compete is to get another capable duelist to join.

Dartz has long targeted Seto Kaiba; not only for his fame and skills, but also to prevent The Kaiba's from building their own agency. Yet Kaiba never shown any interest. "If we get Mutou to join, he might be able to change Kaiba's mind in anything. The logic is, if we're able to influence Mutou, we might be able to influence Kaiba," Valon uttered.

It felt like a ruse; a cheap way to get to Kaiba. But no one would skip the chance to get closer to Kaiba in any way. So Alister sighed heavily and gave a slight nod. Valon nodded back before he walked ahead toward the lounge. From the glass paneled wall, Alister saw Dartz and Leviathan sitting in the VIP booth. Just in time, they caught Rafael walking out of the lounge with someone.

"Mutou!" Valon waved to the stranger next to Rafael. Mutou turned to them and  _finally_  Alister saw him for himself. He's short, but everything else about him screamed confidence. You wouldn't call him handsome in the traditional sense; but you wouldn't be able to take your eyes off of him either. His most prominent features, being his hair and eyes, made him easily recognized put apart from everyone.

Valon and Alister walked to them. "This is the guy I told you about," Valon told Mutou before turning to Alister, "This is Alister. He almost beat Kaiba a couple of times. They ended in a draw once!"

Alister offered his hand to the other duelist. Mutou looked young – maybe around Seto Kaiba's own age. Valon continued his introduction, "But he never actually defeat Kaiba like you did, Mutou!"

The words triggered something nasty in Alister. Maybe because he's possessive of Kaiba's rivalry; or maybe because he had prided himself as the guy who'd one day be capable to push Kaiba's buttons. But here was someone else who might be something more than all those combined to Kaiba; and Alister couldn't help but look him up and down to measure him.

"Yami Mutou," the guy introduced himself with a smile, "I've heard about you. Your duels in the States last month was particularly interesting".

 _He's knowledgeable,_  Alister concluded. That somehow brought a challenging smile to Alister's face. "Nothing close to your duel with Kaiba".

"That's nothing," the guy shrugged; but the smirk was cheeky.  _Cocky too,_ Aliser thought amusingly. He sensed that Yami's confidence was for his own skill; not from mistakingly looking down on others'. A lot of duelists commited that mistake of not fully grasping their opponents' abilities. Mutou, however, was not blind. He's the kind who pays attention; and he's assessing Alister thoroughly.

"He beats the boss at chess," Rafael chimed in – proudly in fact.

"Wow," Alister was genuinely impressed. Dartz is really good in chess; none of them ever win against him. It was then Ryuuji from Japan disrupted their conversation. He appeared from nowhere, practically pointing fingers and screaming for everyone to hear.

"Mutou! It's you right? Is it true that Kaiba forced you to sleep in his room?"

Everyone froze. Valon, especially, was gaping stupidly as he looked between Mutou and Ryuuji. It was the silent agreement for everyone to not bring up the rumors to its two subjects. You wouldn't want Kaiba's wrath be put upon you for harassing one of his possessions. Unfortunately, dumbass Ryuuji couldn't read between the lines to see when to stop; "Everyone is talking about how Kaiba forced you under his watch 24/7 in order to get back at you!"

At this point it was obvious Ryuuji is a fanboy in distraught for Mutou. In exchange, he missed the truth completely.

Mutou seemed surprised; but not as much as he should be. He knitted his eyebrows and shook his head, "No, no. It's nothing like that. Me and Kaiba are in good terms".

Ryuuji visibly became less tense (and missed the glare Valon and Alister were sending the back of his head). Mutou then chuckled slightly, "I mean, that guy wouldn't want to stay with me if he hated me that much".

Ryuuji was still smiling at the other teen, "You're right. Someone as loaded would be able to hire a spy to…," then he blinked at Mutou as though just realizing the other didn't deny the room-sharing allegation, "..w-watch over…"

Valon hooked an arm around the stuttering mess' shoulder, "Hey hey! No need to throw assumptions. Everyone is friends here; right, Ryuuji?" Valon's tone contained a silent message;  _Do not crash our conversation and make_  a  _bad impression on_  us.

Ryuuji nodded hurriedly. Meanwhile Rafael shifted in discomfort. They hoped Mutou wouldn't tell Kaiba on them. All Mutou did was smile tightly, "But I agree. We shouldn't have shared the room. This is a competition. We should all focus on dueling and not mess around".

Wait, was Mutou giving them an insight to his and Kaiba's relationship for free? Valon opened and closed his mouth like a fish before he sputtered to comment; "Of course not! You're free to do as you wish as long as it doesn't bother everyone else. Agree?" He looked to all three of them; to which they all nodded approvingly. Something about Mutou's humbleness made them zip up from asking for more information. It's either that or they were too surprised to say more.

Mutou left them after a couple of pleasantries. Alister exchanged looks with Valon. "What does this mean? He did say  _our_  relationship," Alister started.

"Honestly, I have no idea. But you better not spill this to anyone, Ryuuji!" Valon turned to Ryuuji instead, "To think we've considered recruiting you to our agency once!"

Ryuuji nodded dumbly in silence.

* * *

 

The cruise ship took another stop before the evening to pick up the event's sponsors, important guests, and the media. The talk surrounding the event became more animated and another face-off between Kaiba and Mutou became one of the most talked possibilities. If you ever delve deep enough to the shadiest part of the conversation, you'd even hear the speculations regarding Kaiba and Mutou's relationship. More than half the people were convinced they were arch enemies; but the rumors strayed them from that path of belief. At this point, no one was certain which was the truth and which was the silly gossip. Are Kaiba and Mutou nemesis, friends, or something else altogether?

Not that anybody would approach the subject with neither Kaiba nor Mutou. It's that; or they risked feeling the tip of Kaiba's wrath.

Kaiba and Mutou had yet to be seen interacting in public with Kaiba seeming busy to entertain the media and business partners who were present. On the other hand, Mutou was often caught on the different side of the room; mingling with interested duelists.

Next thing they knew, night has arrived and came the time for the opening gala dinner. The last year's top five duelists were briefed to mingle with the event's sponsors before they were allowed to sit alongside twenty five other invited duelists from around the globe.

"How about the seating arrangement?" Seto Kaiba asked suddenly while the rest of the top five groomed up in the room next to the open terrace where the gala dinner would take place. The brown haired teen leaned toward the ship's crew who just gave them the briefing with a serious look.

"After the MC started the event and allowed the dinner to start, you'll be seated with the other invitee according to your room arrangements. For example, here," the crew member showed Kaiba the papers in his hand, "You are listed as a guest in our luxury suite. You'll be seated with other guests who were also reserved the luxury suite, which happens to be everyone in top five".

"So five people will share a table each?"

"Yes, Sir".

"But how about someone who I especially requested to share the room with me?" Kaiba made wild movements with one hand all the while maintaining a sharp image, "Will he be able to sit with me too or will he be put somewhere else?"

The crew member stopped to stare at the other man before opening his mouth, and closed it, then opened it again as he stole a glimpse to another crew member who was guarding the door to the terrace. The rest of the people in the room, that being the Top 5, paid attention to the conversation. "That person would be placed according to the room he's previously assigned to, Sir," the crew member finally explained after a silent exchange with his fellow staff. He flipped over the pages of the document in his hand, then stopped at a particular page, "He's enlisted here".

Kaiba hummed with his eyes latched to the paper, "So Mutou will be seated alongside Japanese duelists".

Alister was in the middle of fixing his hair; but he had heard Kaiba mentioning Mutou's name loud and clear. "Yes, Sir," the crew member affirmed, "Is there anything else we can help you with?"

Kaiba took a moment before saying, "That's all. Thank you".

Malik snorted when the crew member left. He wore a white suit, standing not far from Rafael. "S'nice to have someone to look after, isn't it?" The Egyptian duelist said. Malik could be bold, sure; but there's just something different about him

"You wouldn't want me saying anything to Isis, wouldn't you?" Kaiba retorted sharply,  _"Malik?"_

"No. Of course not," Malik grunted tightly.

The five of them were allowed to the terrace not a minute later. Eyes instantly went to them as they scattered among the guests; making the sponsors as their target. Each of them, thankfully, was used to this type of interactions with affluent figures. They were, after all, affiliated to influential people their selves. The Doma's are affiliated to Leviathan's infamous sport agency; Malik is a prominent member of The Ishtar Foundation; and Kaiba is… well, Kaiba.

Everyone was allowed to mingle as much as they liked before the dinner officially started. The night started with live music, amazing appetizer, and a couple of jokes shared with the richest sponsor on board. Somehow, Pegasus had yet to show his face around. Knowing the guy, he'd make the most flamboyant entrance known to man.

Alister kept on finding himself eyeing Mutou somehow. He didn't know why; his eyes glued easily to the S line of the other's back. He was in the middle of a conversation with the Wong family (who was the event's biggest supporter) to practice his mandarin when he, for the tenth time that evening, stared at a passing Mutou once again. However, this time he caught Mutou sending a look to Kaiba. Kaiba, who was discussing something with The Ishtars, actually paused. Not only that, he ogled the other guy; neck practically turning to follow Mutou's back.

Oh wow. The two were… flirting.

Not able to stop himself, Alister called out, "Mutou!"

Mutou halted to see him. Alister felt stupid suddenly. It wasn't like him to call out to people like that. "You look… You look good tonight," Alister said finally.

Yami blinked owlishly at him; then smiled. "Thanks!" he said with a slight wave. Alister waved back as he watched the guy joining a group of duelists in the back. At that exact moment, Alister felt the most sinister air behind him. Alister looked to his left to find Seto Kaiba; glaring.

Alister tried his best to not stare at Mutou or Kaiba again afterward; also keeping minimum contact with the latter as they were seated at their predetermined seats. The MC started the events by addressing their honorable guests and sharing the list of entertainment for the night. Then he announced that the main host would make his presence to deliver a couple of words.

Everyone were muttering to  _their_  selves at that point; heads looked around to catch a glimpse of Pegasus. A low rumble could be heard from above. It was then everybody looked up to see a helicopter hovering above them. Lo and behold; a ladder was dangled down. Pegasus clung at the top of the ladder with a pose that was nothing sort of fabulous. What was surprising, however, was the presence of another figure in equally colorful appearances hanging slightly below him on the ladder. The second guy was shorter and he was waving enthusiastically to the crowd.

"Hello my most valuable sponsors and chosen duelists from around the world," Pegasus' voice boomed from above; obviously thanks to the attached microphone. "It is I, your main host for today; Pegasus Maximillion, and my co-host".

Seto Kaiba took that moment to rise from his seat and scream, "MOKUBA!"

To confirm, the little guy with Pegasus waved and introduced himself as, "MOKUBA KAIBA!"

Realization came to everyone, and laughter followed suit. Mokuba Kaiba, known as  _the unlikely Kaiba_  or  _the different Kaiba_  for his knack to throw pranks at stalkerous members of the media. He's the kind of kid who was famous enough to have a compilation of pictures where he threw the finger at reporters and the only video to ever catch him scream  _fuck you_  at a reporter went viral in minutes. Even now that he blessed them with his edgy personality, it was not without having his older brother looking up in horror (though his lady assistant could be seen laughing excitedly not far away).

The most hilarious thing of the night, however, was not the older Kaiba's scream of terror or Pegasus and Mokuba's choice of fashion (they wore pink and yellow suits respectively). Instead it was that moment where the ladder from the helicopter almost touched the ground and Mokuba Kaiba pointed a finger at a random spot in the middle of the crowd. In fact, it was pointed to a table where a particular tricolor haired teen was at. "AH, YAMI!" Mokuba exclaimed loud and clear for his wireless microphone to catch, "ARE YOU CHEATING ON MY BROTHER?"

Everyone followed the direction of his finger to see Mutou next to an overexcited Vivian Wong. The boy was shaking his head crazily and waving a no with his two hands. Meanwhile Vivian jumped away to avoid the stares. The laughter that followed were deafening though. Alister himself couldn't help but grin. The spectators took that as a comedic skit where a Kaiba (and of course they had to use the most comical Kaiba for the role to make it work) accused Mutou of cheating the duel where he defeats Seto Kaiba. It seemed like the perfect opening in remembrance of the latest happening in the dueling community (that being Kaiba and Mutou's duel).

But of course, that was no skit or planned scenario. If you put Mutou's nervous shaking of the head and Seto Kaiba's glare at Vivian Wong to calculation, you'd knew exactly what was going on.

* * *

**TBC.**

* * *

**Hello dear readers! I don't talk a lot in this story, do I? Good news, I'll do a lot of talking in this after-note! How do you like the story so far? I hope you like it. This story started out unplanned (which is noticeable if you catch on my many mistakes). Basically the idea came to mind after a bit of nostalgia with Yugioh and I'm running away from my responsibilities in other fandoms. I was thinking I could just post it without feeling attached to it. This story is my random dabbling and it shall not be taken seriously like my other projects -which is why I don't mingle around too much.**

**But a couple (and more) cute comments afterwards I just can't. I'm happy that some of you like it (even crossreviewed from ffnet to AO3 and viceversa). And so I think, I should put more thought into it. For my half-assedness so far, I apologize.**

**At this point, I regret a couple of things in this story. One, the use of English version names. Honestly, we all did that only to avoid typing Jounouchi's name. But I realized, typing his full name shouldn't have bothered me at all because he doesn't make that much of an appearance so far (he will soon tho). I have more respects toward the Japanese version, so there might be some changes or intermixing in later updates.**

**Two, I also regret not doing proper research before posting this story. As a result, I forgot Isono/Rolland's name and uses Tanaka instead; and I typed in dueler and not duelist (which is an absolute embarassment).**

**Will there be major proofreading in the future? I will be honest; it would be highly unlikely. Sorry everyone.**

**And here on I will announce a couple of things for future updates. This is regarding to the elements of the story itself that may or may not turn you off.**

**Firstly, it's about the nature of the main couple's relationship. Lets be real, most slash in fandoms are irreversible; because fandoms, in the end, is still heteronormative. I am heteronormative and I write heteronormative slash. Which means, my gay couples follow the hetero couples norms. For example, they are irreversible; there's an absolute manly top and an absolutely feminine bottom. Girly boy don't top. EVER.**

**But for this story I'd like to pay homage to both main characters by making them reversible. HOWEVER, considering my heteronormative ways, it may only be implied or kept at a minimum. I'm leaning more to top!Kaiba and bottom!Yami of course. But expect a bit of the reverse, okay? It won't be much, I promise, so please you heteronormies don't run away in fear.**

**Secondly, I also tried to make every character and the universe to be more humane. Thus the lack of soul magic and the such. Therefore, it is also very humane for Yami to lose a game to Kaiba in a fair game, right? I mean, they are implied to be somewhat equal in skill. It will happen somewhere sometime.**

**Thirdly, future lemons confirmed.**

**Thank you everyone. Have a great weekend!**

 

 


	10. Yami's Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Warning: Lime  
> 2\. This is the full version with graphic content for Point of Two. The clean version of this story (no graphic content) will be posted in my ffnet's account soon.

 

YAMI’S MORNING

* * *

  
In Yami’s opinion, Seto will never stop being such a surprise to him. Starting from the day he showed up in his school for no reason to the day he kissed Yami on the school rooftop. And now he’s asking for them to share his room.

"You seriously lack a sense of courtesy,” Yami groaned at his boyfriend once they were out of sight from Amy, Mr. Tanaka and the cook. Seto stood facing him with his arms crossed. His tall form was bent slightly to his shorter lover as he expresses his confusion through knitted eyebrows.

“We’re dating,” he waved one hand to show his point, “What’s the problem in waking up next to me?”

“We’ve only been dating for a month”.

“Look,” Seto leaned closer, “Whether it’s a decade or a month,” he held up two fingers to pinch Yami’s nose, then shook it left and right, “It still makes no different, dummy”. He let Yami’s nose go with a poke at the tip.

“I’ll wait in my room for you to get it through your thick skull,” Seto turned around with a smirk and left Yami alone in the hallway.

Yami’s scowl deepened. He couldn’t believe it. He pinched Seto’s nose the same way yesterday and now he’s given the same treatment by the infamous ice block himself. He huffed then followed after the brunette to his room.

As promised, they breezed through the night doing nothing but sleeping (though Yami had to hiss a couple of time to get Seto to bed with a fucking shirt). They were probably too tired to do anything else. Seto was already sleeping by the time Yami finished changing in the bathroom. Yami remembered lying down thinking that this room and especially the bed smell strongly like the boy he likes. Strange how it didn’t bother him enough to keep him up longer. Because the next thing he knew, he was in Seto’s arms; with his nose buried to the brunette’s armpit.

Seto’s face was awfully close to Yami’s as the prior rubbed his eyes. If it was any other day; Yami would’ve given Seto’s personality another look for acting so casually after sharing the bed with someone. But Koji had just woke them up at 4 in the morning and their engines were reluctant to start. Thus, Yami’s pondering about Seto’s boldness (and how his Greek nose almost grazed Yami’s) was left seething in the shorter’s mind. There was, however, the (literally) pressing matter of their morning woods making their selves obvious to the other party. But they weren’t left to appreciate that fact for long either.

And then there was that minor scuffle they had because Seto wanted to see Yami’s back dimples (need he say that the cook caught them in the middle of it?).

The way to Seto’s private hangar was spent to ponder for Yami. After that morning he spent at The Kaiba’s, the full weight of the truth hit him. He’s Seto Kaiba’s boyfriend for a month now, and he just spent the night in said Kaiba heir’s bed. He’ll spend the rest of the next two weeks with that same brunette with no Yugi nor Tea to give him a wake up call every time he slip up to his more melancholic character.

Not forgetting that Seto was unlike the clean cut well mannered youth people thought he was. Yes, he has the grace of a royalty, he’s intelligent, and he’s out of everybody’s league; but he smokes at school (and refuses to clean up afterwards), he curses, and he thinks everyone, beside the very few he genuinely likes, deserves to stay under his custom-ordered leather shoes. Yami had been fantasizing about wooing the blue eyed princeling with an outdoor dinner on a matt under the starry night sky until said prince ruined that image by asking Yami out in the most insolent manner. Boy did he realize how unexpected one Seto Kaiba could get.

And he’s currently sitting next to Yami, throwing sarcastic remarks at his twitter feed. The tricolor haired recognized then that his morning would be different from now on.

* * *

  
The next time he woke up next to Seto is the second day of his stay in The Millenia; the luxury cruise where Duelist Kingdom took place. Both he and Seto had somehow moved from his side of the bed to the latter’s. Seto was on his back, face turned the other way as his right arm was spread over the pillow. Yami’s head was somehow tucked under Seto’s armpit, just like the last time they slept together, and his left hand was on Seto’s belly.

Which was weird, considering last night Yami made sure to stay on his own side of the bed and as far as possible from Seto’s bare back. The fact that this beautiful boy is sleeping close by made Yami feel privileged. You don’t get to see Seto Kaiba sleeping every day. At the same time, he felt jittery and somewhat burdened. Because to Yami that beautiful boy shall not be touched; however inviting he seemed to be.

Not that Yami thought of himself as less than Seto. Deep down, Yami had always known Seto was suitable for himself. Yami is, after all, an arrogant. He likes conquering those untouchable types; Seto being the prime example. But Yami is also an idealist. And thus, the untouchable should keep on being untouchable. Even to himself.

Still though, last night Seto was the one to scoot to his side of the bed to hold him from behind. So how did they move to the other side?

In his haze, Yami lazily felt around the other’s tummy to note the start of a six pack underneath. _My boy’s athletic_ , an absent thought made a its way to Yami’s mind. The stomach’s muscle lurched the way Yami’s would every time he does sit-ups; and that’s what made Yami realize Seto is awake.

They didn’t make a move; they didn’t make a sound. They simply laid there to relish this awkward moment as Yami’s hand freezes in the middle of its circle rubbing on Seto’s stomach. Then Yami took his hand off and landed it between their bodies, only to have Seto’s landing on top of it to hold it in a loose grip.

… lovely.

“We woke up before my alarm goes off,” Seto mumbled. It was only 7; though they planned to have breakfast at 9. The brunette let go of Yami’s hand and swiftly got up from the bed. The way he’s going, it’s obvious he’s not the type to laze around before actually getting up. Yami’s the same way actually; though he’s not sure how to start the day with Seto by his side.

Would Seto want to do anything together in the morning? Would Yami be expected to do something for him? Flowers? Poets? Breakfast in bed?

Yami sat up and crossed his legs to watch the other boy entering the bathroom. Yami then looked for his hair band on the nightstand and started working his hair to a messy bun. Maybe he should start moving his body a bit.

He left the bed to open the wide glasses door to the veranda. The sea breeze and the sound of the waves instantly wafted through their suite; which Yami savored with two arms on his hips. Perfect. And the veranda was large enough for him to move around.

Yami bent his body to the ground, lifted his two legs, and started moving his hands in a handwalk to the veranda.

“Never knew you could manage your hair to a bun like that”.

Yami halted halfway. His legs gave way. Thankfully, he managed to return to a standing position. “Of course I can,” he replied as he tucked a blonde fringe behind his ear. Seto stood in the middle of the room; still topless, but the long pajama pants were changed to a more fitting jogger pants.

Yami eyed the upper torso. “Nice pecs”.

Seto looked smug. “I’m not the only one though,” the taller teen patted Yami’s arm lightly as he walked by to reach the veranda. Yami flushed.

“I train with Tanaka every morning. Muay thai, a bit of karate, judo; you name it,” Seto added. He walked to one corner and made a half somersault until he reached the handstand. He gave Yami the cheekiest upside-down smirk then said; “C’mon lift your shirt. We’ll see who can do the handstand the longest”.

Yami stared dumbly for a couple of seconds. Seto had coaxed him to open his shirt for the longest time.

Seto continued, “I bet you can’t do handstand push up”.

That did it. The next thing you knew, there were two bare-chested boys walking upside-down on the luxury suite’s veranda. On one sweet occasion, you’d see Yami carrying Seto around on his back as he ran around the veranda. On another, you’d hear Seto throwing dirty comments about Yami’s behind until the latter spurted out laughing in the middle of a high knee run.

Not that Yami get Seto’s fixation on his body at first. It was when he’s timing Seto’s butt kicks did he learn how distracting the backside could be. Sure, the bounce of that fluffy brown hair was cute; but the behind was just… enticing.

In fact, Yami had Seto’s behind in his mind all day (and the smell of his sweat. How can a man’s sweat smell that interesting?). He concluded, their current proximity and the exposure of the other’s body could really get to him in a way no other guy could. He thought seeing another man’s toned body would make him jealous; yet Seto’s made him feel like he wanted to cherish it.

Yami was so immersed in this discovery that he’s barely aware when he embarrasses everyone in his table (that being Amy and Mokuba) at a restaurant for breakfast by sharing a toast with Seto like two Disney dogs shared spaghetti. As a result, Mokuba couldn’t stop whining about how gross it was all day long.

* * *

  
As the preliminary round started in Duelist Kingdom; Seto and Yami saw less and less of one another. Both were put on different parts of the tournament; Seto was paired against stronger opponents; while Yami, being a no name duelist before, had to fight his way up among fellow beginner duelists.

The preliminary consisted of ten dueling rounds that lasts for four days. Duelists were paired against one another in accordance to their scores in battle (counted by your LP margin, combos used, and the number of turns used).

It is said that the top 50 duelists were paired randomly in their own batch. One would need to reach their scores by winning with more margins to be able to get to their level. The thing was, if you were paired with a weak opponent, you were more likely to use weaker combos, thus reducing your performance.

Which was why Yami struggled before finally having a face off with a top 50 duelist.

As a result, he often returned late to their room. Seto would already be asleep by then; and come morning, they both would be too immersed in reviewing their decks to exercise together.

However, Yami noted they spent almost the same time in the bathroom; grooming.

Domino is such small town and it’s rare to find a fellow male perfectionist who pay attention to their appearance as much. In Yami’s case, it might be Tea’s influence (he shares a special bond with her just like Yugi with Joey). And even then, she made fun of his metrosexuality.

So the mornings he and Seto shared in the bathroom, doing their skin care, became something to enjoy; man to man. Funny thing is, they both had the same self care routine, but with different products. Kaiba had a range of high end imported products; meanwhile Yami had a more adventurous preference, mostly leaning to organic products, but with weird choices from Korean beauty scene here and there. Some of their differences being Seto’s regular use of fragrance. He brought four bottles of cologne for that tournament alone; all being famous brands with clean aquatic scent. Yami, in the other hand, had numerous hair products; which, if you think about it, makes sense concerning his hair issues.

That particular morning they just finished washing their faces together. They tried switching products that day, and each of them lingered by the vanity to read the bottles of the other’s facial wash. Seto borrowed Yami’s shaving cream to shave and they both proceeded to tone and moisturize.

Seto was leaning to the vanity to read the back of Yami’s shaving cream bottle when Yami pulled his lip balm out of his simple black pouch. Yami noticed the other’s stare after applying his lip balm and he stared back; “What?”

“You wear those?” Seto looked on condescendingly. Yami’s choice of lip balm was rather colorful. The container was made out of plastic and appeared cheap. It also had bright neon colors. The finish was very sheer, of course; yet it smelled strongly of cotton candy.

“It’s Tea’s. She buys new lip care every couple of weeks and gave me her old ones,” and he kept on receiving these funky looking ones from her. Not that Yami hated it. He had learned to appreciate the thrill of having weird lip balms (in fact, he had 6 weird lip care options in his pouch).

“You should stop letting her do whatever she wants with you”.

Yami rolled his eyes, “Amy buys all of your stuff for you. You don’t even know half of these products or its uses before she put them under your nose!”

“That’s different,” Seto hissed.

“Hold on,” Yami disrupted and turned to Seto in disbelief, “You never used a lip balm”.

“I don’t want to use that girl’s products”.

Yami stood closer to him instead and carefully touched Seto’s lips. Seto watched him curiously. “It’s chapped,” Yami noted. He then turned to his pouch.

“Yami, I’ve told you. No”.

“Trust me, you’ll like this one,” Yami pulled out a simple lip balm container from his pouch. “Here,” he gave it to Seto. The latter hesitated. “I bought this one. It’s my favorite”.

Seto took the chapstick and turned it around in one hand. “It’s organic and it smells like chocolate,” Yami added. Seto opened the container to reveal a brown chapstick inside.

“Will this make my lips brown?”

“Nope. It has a very sheer finish and it’s not glossy. You can use my lip scrub tonight if you want”.

Yami went to their room to pick his clothes for the day. The next time he saw Seto, the guy was smacking his lips in front of the mirror. He likes it, Yami thought happily.

“You can have it”.

Blue eyes widened, “I thought you like it?”

“Yes,” Yami smirked, “Especially on you”. He tiptoed to Seto and kissed him on the lips.

Later on they shared a laugh when Yami failed on tying Seto’s short hair. Seto, however, tied Yami’s hair so perfectly that they decided he shall be Yami’s personal hair tier from then on. He’s good with hairs and he could do it while being topless; what more could Yami ask for?

* * *

  
One day Yami found himself wrestling under an endless white blanket…, with Seto. The brown haired teen looked gorgeous without his shirt and he wore that fitting pajama pants Yami liked. His blue eyes shone brightly at Yami and all the whiteness seemed to compliment his appearance. Everything smelled so strongly of him too somehow; probably because of the enclosed space.

He pounced on Seto. Manly chuckles, ones like his own, filled the small space between them. They rolled around just like how he, Joey, Tristan usually fool around; till at one point he noticed Seto’s pants were gone.

The panic struck through Yami in an instant and the surge of protectiveness soon followed. To him, Seto’s virtue was always a priority. So he crawled around – the thought that Seto could manage himself somehow left him altogether – and promised the boy, he’ll find that cute pair of night trousers with all his might.

But then he caught the sight of Seto’s bare crotch.

And man it froze him.

Most of the time, the sight of another man’s muscly legs strike a competitive cord in Yami. However, Seto’s only made him spellbound. He wanted to worship every inch of that boy’s body; he wanted to touch.

Seto was glaring at him las though Yami had sent his blue eyes to the graveyard. Yami adores that look on Seto’s face, but he was still incapable of deciphering it. Is he angry or is he happy? No matter. Yami was hypnotized by those legs; and the erection that stood proud and tall. He never knew he could be so mesmerized by another guy’s erect penis. He reached out to it; and touched with the tip of his fingers. It felt so easy; it made Yami feel brave.

So he went closer and kissed the head of Seto’s erection.

And after that was an array of reactions. There were humping – though which body part was being humped, he didn’t know; and then there were mingled breaths. He remembered himself being brutal with Seto’s hair, something he couldn’t imagine even doing before considering how much Yami loves that hair, and Seto returned the gesture with equal force. Seto was flushing and his blue eyes were glinting. Down under, another part of Yami came so alive it felt like a separate entity altogether.

Then Yami opened his eyes.

Realization didn’t come to him directly. He was confused as to how he transferred from under the white blanket to the dark room; or how Kaiba’s face, which was supposedly glued to his own, was nowhere in place. Instead, he was now hugging someone’s waist, most likely Seto’s, while his nose buried itself to Seto’s side. Yami was slightly breathless. His face was hot but his back was cold from the air conditioner.

It was then he became aware of his own erection (or how it was pressed to Seto’s leg) and that he just dreamed of Seto; dirtily. The surprise came first before the shame and guilt weighed on him. How could he soil the love of his life in such a way? He wouldn’t even pull Seto’s hair that hard like in the dream. He’d rather hurt himself than hurt the boy’s head that way.

Because Yami was glued to Seto’s side as usual, he had to crane his head up to check on the other boy. Yami looked up…

To find Seto looking back with unblinking blue eyes.

He had been awake all along, Yami noted nervously. Yami was caught.

Yami looked away to the ornate ceiling and turned his body to face up so that his erection wouldn’t harass Seto’s leg too much. Seto didn’t say anything; and Yami was too embarrassed to explain himself. Thankfully, he didn’t make any mess. His underwear was slightly damp; but he didn’t – hadn’t – bust yet.

 _I’m sorry_ , Yami thought. He hoped Seto would understand; but he’d most likely be disgusted.

Yami rose from the bed to the bathroom without any word. Seto let him be.

* * *

  
Unlike the previous nights, Yami returned early to his and Seto’s suite. Amy had texted him saying Seto wouldn’t be there until midnight if not early the next day. There was a meeting for the quarterfinals and Seto was asked to join (though he only joined to make sure Mokuba wouldn’t).

Yami was glad he’s given the space to think about how their sleeping arrangements affected him. It’s just that Seto is too different to the people he had ever met. Some of those differences aligned with Yami – after all, Yami had always been labeled too eccentric for Domino. Their hobbies, their humor, their habits; all clicked easily.

But Seto also brought so many new things to the table. His ease with their proximity being one; and Yami wasn’t sure how to react. Seto put too much trust on him; maybe because Yami had acted like the white knight to Seto’s princess (or prince?). The thing was, Yami doesn’t have the composure of a knight. He was weak to Seto’s temptation. His smell on the bed; the sight of his sweat on bare skin every morning; the smoothness of his hair every time Yami brushes it; those were all tempting. If Yami stayed longer in that room, he didn’t know what kind of stupid thing he’d do to that precious brunette.

Yami decided he’ll sleep on the sofa. That was the proper punishment for last night and to prevent embarrassing himself again. Because of that; he woke up a couple of times in the middle of the night. Not that it wasn’t uncomfortable. The couch was definitely of the best quality. But something was bothering his mind.

At one point he was quite awake – sleepy, but aware. He heard the slow but sure steps inside the room and the sound of rustling fabric.

Seto had returned.

Yami kept his eyes closed. He felt Seto walking around; possibly to change, wash up, and do his night skin care routine. Then he lingered around Yami. Carry on, Yami repeated the mantra in his mind, just carry on.

Yami could practically feel his glare. If he’s angry because Yami had a wet dream of him, then Yami deserved it.

He sensed the spot beside his head sunk as Seto sat next to his sleeping form. Seto then pinched Yami’s nose and shook the latter’s head left and right. “God damn you, Yami. You fucking coward,” he heard Seto growled before his temple was flicked. It was painful.

“What the -,” Yami’s hands went to his forehead in reflex. He sat up: not even trying to feign sleepiness; as he scowled at the boy of his dream. “What were you doing?”

“I’m angry at you,” Seto hissed while glancing sideways. He was wearing Yami’s shirt though.

Yami held back from mentioning that last fact and prepared his long apology for the event that morning (or yesterday, considering it’s early morning already). But Seto cut him to the chase, “I didn’t win against Marik because of you”.

Yami halted, “Wait, you lost? To Malik?”

“It’s fucking Marik. Malik’s in Milan for all I care,” Seto growled, “Marik’s his twin. And it’s a draw”.

The discovery about _Malik_ ’s identity was scandalous, but Yami was too focused on the accusation pointed at him. “And how’s that my fault?” Yami found himself raising his voice too. He would apologize for anything but Seto’s lost. It’s in his principle that a duelist should own up to their defeat.

“You think I’d be able to concentrate after the stunt you pulled that morning?” Seto exclaimed as he stood up from the seat, “You were humping my leg and gasping like a dog in heat”.

Yami followed his example and stand up. He pulled his most guilty expression and lowered his voice to beg for Seto’s forgiveness, “Look, Blue Eyes, I’m-“

“And all you did after that was run to the bathroom to jack off by yourself? Fucking coward. The least you could do is offer to finish your damned beloved Blue Eyes”.

Yami stopped to gape at his boyfriend. His anger returned in full fervor. “Excuse me then!! I didn’t know you even needed assistance for your boner, Your Highness!!” He had seen this privileged pounce acting up at times; like that time when he asked Yami out; that time he demanded they sleep in his bed; and that time he demanded Yami to apply his deodorant. Most of the time, Yami didn’t mind it; he thought that rare side of Seto was cute. But this time his pushiness was just painful to handle.

“Why the hell do you sleep in my bed then, Poundcake?”

“What’s a poundcake?” Yami asked out of the blue, “And you’re saying that you want to share the room for a fucking handjob??”

“And more. Definitely. Yes,” Seto answered it with such confidence that it’s hard to believe they were discussing something so lewd. In fact, the tall teen looked as determined as he usually was when dueling.

“Kids from Tokyo are so… crude,” Yami muttered in disbelief. Seto rolled his eyes.

“What did you think we’ll be doing? Share bedtime stories?” The brunette had his arms crossed. His brows knitted like he just realized something, “Wait, are you hard?”

“Wait, what?”

“Are you hard?”

 _No_ was what Yami planned to say, but Seto beat him up to it by hooking his fingers into the waistband of Yami’s long pants and pulled it open along with his trunks so that he could take a peek inside. By the time Seto bent slightly to see his bare crotch; Yami was gawking; speechless.

“You’re not,” Seto dared to sound disappointed. Yami slowly put a hand on his face to cover himself from the embarrassing reality. He simply said;

“You’re drunk. I could smell it on you”.

“I’m buzzed, not drunk,” Seto tilted his head as he stared at Yami’s dick, “Mine’s longer”.

Yami rubbed his face in frustration, “Oh, fuck you! And you’re under the age limit to drink”.

Seto ignored the comment regarding his drinking habit, but said, “I think yours are thicker maybe. S’cute though,” at Yami’s dick. The brunette let go of the pants. The waistband slapped hard against Yami’s lower abdomen.

“This is not real,” Yami repeated the mantra from behind his hands. Meanwhile, Seto took a peek behind his own pants.

“Now I’m hard. Thanks a lot”.

“What was that snarky attitude for?”

“You’re the one who chose to sleep on the couch looking like you’re asking for it!”

“Asking for what?”

“For a quick fuck”.

Yami shook his head in disbelief at Seto’s outburst. “You got hard because I was sleeping on the couch”.

“Because you had that face. And your cock”.

Yami blinked in realization. He had thought this was the Prince he had fought to save; only to realize this was not a Princeling at all. In fact, Seto was the white knight’s biggest nemesis all along. He’s the evil dragon.

“So what do you want me to do?” Yami grunted.

“I don’t know! Be a good boyfriend and lend me a hand?”

Yami crossed his arms. He had expected that answer, but didn’t think Seto would voice it as curt and as loud to his face. “You could be a real asshole”.

“You wish,” Seto scoffed. He then took another peak inside his pants, “So you wouldn’t help me?”

Yami forgot his anger as he couldn’t look away from Seto’s slightly pulled pants in hope of catching the sight of the other’s cock. “Uh… I…,” he shifted and coughed, “I’ve never done that to another guy before”.

Seto gave an exaggerated eye-roll. “There’s always a first, dummy”.

“You could at least be nicer, you know?”

“Ugh – so do you want to or do you not?”

Yami scowled,”… I’ve given you my answer”.

“Then don’t look like you want to!”

Yami groaned. He looked down to the couch. Deep down, he knew he was going to say something stupid. He threw himself to the seat and sighed heavily.

_Don’t be stupi -!_

“Fine. I’ll give you the handjob”.

He did it. He said it. He didn’t know why he say what he said; but he did it. It’s probably because it was only three in the morning; Seto was drunk (buzzed; whatever) and he was too sleepy to think clearly.

Seto eyed Yami’s outreached hand with an arched eyebrow. “I’ll take your words," he sat down next to Yami and casually pulled out his dick, "No stepping back".

Yami was fixated for a moment, until Seto grew impatient. “Well?”

“Yeah, yeah, Your Highness,” Yami grunted and moved his hand toward the erect organ. His right hand hovered on top of it – practically feeling the heat wafting off – before he looked away to the coffee table in front of them.

The moment his hand made contact with Seto’s cock; everything else became automatic. He had done the same thing to himself numerous times after all. _It is longer_ , he admitted as he tried his best to keep his cool. He moved his hand the way he usually likes it; short and quick movements that sorted to a slower pace every once in a while to brush against the tip. He regretted there was nothing romantic in this somehow. They were sitting side by side, looking at the same direction, and there was minimum sweet talking nor touching (beside Yami’s right hand and Seto’s dick).

But whatever. He hoped he could finish him off soon.

He turned to Seto, who had his arms crossed, eyes closed, and chin lifted as he breathe in. There’s something empowering in that image that Yami sped up his pace. Seto gave a sharp hiss.

“You’re too good at this,” Seto’s voice was deeper than usual; breathier. It’s surreal. Seto reached out to Yami’s face to caress it. The hand roamed to the latter’s chest and lower.

“Are you hard?” The taller asked.

“U-uh,” Yami croaked awkwardly, “ No, I…”. But Seto hand had reached the front of his pants. He patted the bulge under Yami’s pants – quite roughly – that Yami flinched pitifully. The hand expertly pulled Yami’s erection out of it’s confinement. He flicked on it playfully – in which Yami squeaked – and squeezed it; before pumping it up and down.

Yami unconsciously threw his head back to the seat. His jaw dropped as he took in a lot of air. “Oh God,” he gasped shakily. So this was how it feels to have someone jerk you off – someone athletic, in fact. And maybe it was affecting Yami too much. His breathing was getting uncontrollable. Seto’s pace was brutal.

“Yami, sit on my lap”.

Yami only half listened to the urgent order. He needed a moment to gather himself before answering. “I’m not a kid”.

As though deciding to take things to his own hands, Seto rose from the sofa and turned to face Yami. “Take your pants off,” the order was urgent as he readily use his own hand to pull Yami’s pants off. Yami made a move to help. Their hands clumsily raced against one another. Thankfully, they managed. The pants along with his trunk dropped to the floor not long after. Seto roughly opened Yami’s legs and rested them on his thighs as he sat on the knees. The change of the position was hurried and ended with a wet kiss on the lips.

“Jack me off,” Seto whispered between their kisses. His hand made a desperate grab at Yami’s to pull it to his dick. Yami resumed his work with a hissed gasp. Seto did the same to Yami’s leaking cock. The two boys’ movements became jerky and wild as they pumped each other’s erection.

And that was when everything became unbearable for Yani. He couldn’t hold back any longer. He pulled away from their heated kiss and the guttural moan just left him. It was long and ended in a broken high pitched tone.

“Urgh, Set- ! Set -!” Yami called out in between hard gasps. He thrashed his head left and right; neck craning till his head couldn’t go any further. His whole body was tense. His legs clamped around Seto’s midsection painfully and his free hand was fisted on Seto’s shoulder. He no longer cared if Seto made fun of his reaction for the whole year.

“I know, I know,” Seto answered to the desperate call breathily, “Stay with me and keep your hand moving”. The brunette didn’t seem like he could hold on any lo ger either.  
Yami bit his bottom lip and scrunched his eyes closed. “Set, I-I’m gonna bust,” Yami whispered sharply.

“I know. Don’t hold back. Just let go,” Seto urged with equal desperation. Yami grew more tense as he felt himself going to spurt at any moment. It’s embarrassing to be under Seto in such a pose doing this; but he needed it.

There was a choked grunt before Yami grew tense and silent. The semen came out in short bursts; some almost hitting Seto before it dripped messily to Yami’s own abdomen. The teen’s head dropped to the side soon after. Desperate gasps were heard following a rasped groan that came out of Yami’s mouth uncontrollably.

“You’re so easy,” Seto scoffed. It was offensive, but Yami was too out of it to defend himself. Seto bent down to kiss his sweaty cheek while Yami was gathering his breatb. He whispered to Yami’s face cockily, “Having apollo dimples does you no justice”.

Yami blinked lazily at Seto. The guy shifted closer to him that their cocks almost touched. “Stay with me a little longer, Poundcake,” he told Yami. His hand left Yami’s cock to reach his own, where Yami’s grip had gone loose. “Grip it tight; I promise I wont tire you out,” he said, which Yami followed. Seto’s hand covered Yami’s and they both set a quick pace on Seto’s dick.

Seto’s other hand grabbed Yami’s chin. “Look at me,” he breathed out. Yami did; not that he could look away with their foreheads touching. The blue eyes were staring back; unblinking. Wild; like he wanted to swallow Yami whole. Everything centered on their joined hands and the heated breath that fanned Yami’s face. Despite the serene atmosphere of the silent sea breeze; Yami felt like he was in the middle of a crazy race.

Seto’s expression was stiff. His teeth were gritted and he was growling. “I’m coming,” he hissed to Yami. Fingers went from Yami’s chin to make a painful grip on the back of Yami’s neck. Seto pushed himself further onto Yami; which made Yami felt like he was going to sink into the cushion soon.

The hot liquid spurted on Yami’s stomach a second later. And, maybe, because Yami had been holding his breath, he groaned along with Seto as he finished. Seto smooched him, all the while pumping his own dick until everything was squirted out.

They spent the next minute catching their breath. Seto's forehead thunked against Yami's as the prior gave a breathy laugh. “That was great;” Seto smiled, “Best handjob I had in awhile”.

Yami thought they were in such a mess. Something nagged the back of his mind that he had done something traitorous to his own ideals. But Seto looked so handsome just then; and Yami felt so good and so loved. So he gave his own shaky smile and agreed. “Yeah".

They went for another kiss; this time slow and innocent.

After that Yami hesitated to check on his crotch. He knew it’s going to be messy; it _felt_ messy and sticky. When he did look down between them, Seto laughed. All the mess ended on Yami (Seto was lucky to be positioned above him). Yami even had cum stain on his shirt. Seto got away with a damp trouser; and that was only because Yami’s legs were sweating.

Seto got up to get the tissue box on the table next to the couch. He cleaned after his own dick first then went to Yami with the box of tissue. Yami was still positioned like previously. He allowed Seto to help him clean after himself.

The rest of the night (morning) was spent in silence. However, Seto did bid him good night with a kiss on the temple. Yami went to bed with the cum stained shirt on; and Seto didn’t seem to care when he hugged Yami before dozing off.

* * *

  
Amy knew something happened last night the moment he stepped into the boys’ room. Seto looked happy (though he was scowling all day yesterday thanks to the duel with Ishtar) and Yami looked absent (and guilty). Seto was even whistling to Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon as he tied up Yami’s hair to a bun. Meanwhile, Yami had a wide-eyed look on his face.

Being the great assistant she was, she needed to think ahead of herself. So she’s well-prepared when Yami approached her with a shameful look. She had to execute her plan perfectly; because a great assistant would do anything to assure their employer’s happiness.

“Ame, I have a confession to make,” Yami started silently while Seto was in the bathroom.

Amy read through him like an expert. That psychology course she took in college was not for nothing. “Of course, but before that,” she paused to pull her best maternal expression – something she knew would put the teen under her influence, “I want to thank you for helping Seto get over the result of his last duel. He had been sulking all day”.

“Thank… me?”

“Yes. He looks so much better today,” she smiled and dropped her ultimate weapon, “I’m sure it’s all thanks to you”.

“All… thanks to me,” Yami repeated absently.

“Yes,” she nodded, “So what was it you want to tell me?”

Yami looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding confidently. “Nah. It’s nothing. Thanks anyway Ame”.

And that’s another job well done for the assistant.

* * *

**TBC.**

* * *

**I just thought Yami should be a bit of a hipster with a thing for a chic street rock fashion. And I like writing him as an idealist romantic. I think the fairytale-ish fantasy and the precious ways he addressed Kaiba are fitting to how I want him to be in this story. The lime is kind of meh somehow. My English vocabulary is limited so it's hard to keep the flow and deliver.**

**Now that the lime is out, should I change this fic's rating or what?**

 


	11. The Quarterfinal's End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Warning: Lime, different povs in one chapter  
> 2\. The plot of this chapter is very loose; moreso than the previous ones  
> 3\. Enjoy!

You’d see a number of behavior in the small gathering hall, first floor of The Millenia, where the final announcement for Duelist Kingdom’s quarterfinal will be made. Among the forty quarterfinalists – or at least the thirty something that had arrived on the venue, some were forcing their widest smile while floating from a person to the other saying, “Hey! I know I’m not going to make it to the semifinal; but I’m doing _fine!_ Just fine! Not sad. Not _sad_ at all!” Some didn’t have the time to join in the ongoing chatter of the private hall in exchange to watch their scores on the live feed of the scoring board. This type was the most desperate; they were hoping that somehow they could still make it to the next round.

And of course there were the hopeless ones; the ones who were absolute they wouldn’t make it. These were the ones who knew they were lucky to even be in the quarterfinals. They were currently sitting a distance away from the crowd; either trying to distract their selves or thinking hard to see what they could do to improve their performances.

Then came the people who were confident they will make it. These are the familiar faces in the dueling community. And among them was a myriad of reactions.

Some of them mingled with the other duelists while speaking louder than usual; absolutely loving to shove their victory to others. Some of them were acting friendly – happy – but chill enough to come off as an asshole. And then the very few were worried and observant as they waited for the rest of the ongoing duels to finish. Doma being in the last category as they wait for Alister to finish his duel.

Alister was, after all, facing Seto Kaiba.

Valon could be seen biting the tip of his thumb as he watched the ongoing duels live scores on the board while Rafael was in a serious discussion with their manager, Dartz. Everyone else was also speaking about that exact duel. Alister one-sided rivalry with Kaiba was rather known in the community.

But aside from all that, there was the walking wonder himself – the type who was the talk of the competition. This was the person who would have whispers and stares following after them; the type who peaked everyone’s interest once they enter the room. While most of the time this person was Seto Kaiba; this year, it was Yami Mutou.

He could be seen laughing along with a group of duelists as they point out his infamous intimidating presence on the arena. Kajiki was making exaggerated hand movements to Mutou, “Have you seen this guy dueling? When he looks at you, he’s glaring!! Like, _glaring_ you down. At that moment I thought for sure this guy hates my guts!”

Everyone in the group laughed; one of them adding, “And he’s good at his bluff!” like it was an inside joke. Mutou laughed along despite the accusations. Because everybody knew Mutou, though scary on the battleground, is actually friendly. Everywhere he went people would call him left and right to get a look at his infamous kindness. But he was not the center of everyone’s attention for just that. Mutou had been the only newcomer to make it to the quarterfinal that year. Not only that, he had just defeated Rafael, last year’s fourth top duelist, with the margin of 10 LP – which was a duel where Rafael was seen to use his fullest potential.  
Yami had yet to lose a duel at this point. The only other person to ever accomplish all that was Seto Kaiba himself.

The laughter from the crowd surrounding Mutou was disrupted when one of the double doors leading to the hall was opened with a loud bam. Everyone turned their necks to see Alister entering the room with a grim look. Concerned whispers were quick to spread through the room. “Kaiba won!” They said as the Doma duelist sat with his colleague with his head bent to the floor. Valon could be seen patting his back encouragingly and Dartz crossed his arms in silence.

Kaiba entered the hall from the opposite direction not long after; billowing white coat, tailing assistant and all that. He could be seen having a serious exchange with the tournament’s official committee and Mokuba before he and his assistant took the seat slightly away from the rest of the crowd.

The announcement was given to everyone after that. Kaiba won the duel against Alister, 150-0. Surprisingly, there was a low rumble of applause given in honor to the last duel of that day. But most of all, it was a form of encouragement given to Alister. Bandit Keith could be heard hollering from the back row, saying something about not giving up and moving forward.

If only everyone squinted harder, they would catch Mutou hesitating between clapping along with everyone and sending looks to Kaiba.

Mokuba Kaiba then took the stand to announce the sixteen names of the tournament’s semifinalists in no particular order. The press were prepared and the rest of the duelists grew silent. Some mentioned names sent everybody to rounds of applause and dramatic screams. The familiar ones; such as Kaiba’s and Ishtar’s; were accepted with moderate reaction.

When Mutou was mentioned, however; everyone stood up to celebrate – which was strange, because even the most liked duelist would have a couple of opponents who would hate to have them moving forward. Mutou was something else altogether. He had everyone hitting his back (in celebration) till his back hurts (in a good way). Even Mai, who was known to keep her space, threw herself at him in excitement.

The next announcement was the matchup for the next round. Everyone was tense and the media was excited to hear the most interesting face-off. The first one was enough to get everyone on their toes; it was Alister vs Valon.

The other interesting matchup being Seto Kaiba vs Rafael. But then came the mention of Mutou’s name that got everyone arching their necks to see the person he’s going against.

“Yami Mutou will be going against…,” Mokuba Kaiba paused a moment to fix his mic.

…, “Malik Ishtar”.

* * *

  
Alister entered the deserted elevator in hope of catching the ride alone. The door was about to shut when it opened again to reveal Mutou by the door. Fine then, Alister thought. He was not in the mood to see anyone, but if he should anyway, he wouldn’t mind having Mutou.

As though realizing Alister’s desire to be alone, Mutou entered the elevator with a slight nod. He went into the right corner in the back without a word; knowing that he’s going to the same floor as Alister.

“Mutou, hold the door!”

This time Valon entered half running; all smile and laughter when he saw Mutou. Maybe he caught the nerve-stricken face Mutou was pulling or it was something else; but he turned his head to his left to see Alister’s flat smile directed at him from where the buttons were. Valon’s happy face deflated to that of an awkward one. He feigned a cough before stepping aside to the opposite side to Alister. It was always tense between opponents of a future match; even when they’re from the same management.

The door finally closed and the elevator made its way from the ground floor to the seventh. Alister couldn’t wait for this elevator ride to be done for. Someone out there didn’t seem to agree as the elevator made a stop at the second floor. Lo and behold, the person waiting beyond them was Malik Ishtar.

He eyed both Doma duelists with a bored look before finding Mutou in the corner of his sight. Malik’s stare sparked with interest; a slight smirk formed as he got into the elevator and picked the spot next to Mutou. If he had anything to say to Mutou, he ended up not saying it. And the tense elevator ride went on.

The second the elevator made it’s low ding heard at the third floor, Alister felt like kicking something. He wished they’d get to the seventh floor already. Then he saw Seto Kaiba standing idly beyond the opened elevator door. 

_Great._

The brown haired guy obviously shared the same sentiment as he gave a look of distaste once taking notes of almost everybody inside, even making it obvious he decided not to board the elevator after all. That was, until he recognized someone at the last second. You could hear the muffled “Wait!” a moment before the elevator door closed. The door opened again, of course; to a slightly bewildered Kaiba. The expression looked so weird on his face that Alister got the sense of finally seeing the guy as a kid; and not the adult in youth’s clothing he’s known to be.

No one was happy Kaiba joined them inside the elevator. He was probably the last person everyone (or at least, almost everyone) wanted to see at the moment. Not that Kaiba cared, obviously. He brushed past Valon and Alister as though they were never there; going straight to the back. Alister didn’t need to check behind to know _who_ Kaiba was going for. But he did anyway.

Something stupid – crazy – happened then, and Alister watched it all in slow motion; from the way Kaiba confidently walked up to Mutou to the moment he tangled his two hands with Mutou’s. For a split second there, Alister thought the contact was innocent. The elevator announced its departure with a ding and that was when Kaiba pushed Mutou quite roughly to the elevator wall before going in for the kill.

Kaiba kissed Mutou on the lips.

They all happened to be watching, of course. Who wouldn’t try peeking after finding out Kaiba and Mutou’s not-so-secret room arrangement. But this was absolutely out of their expectations. Ishtar was gawking uncharacteristically. Valon was speechless. 

Alister turned away when he noticed those two doing a full-blown make out session. Valon was quick on his feet (or hands) enough that he punched the button to the fifth floor in a flash, right before the floor was going to pass by. He fled as soon as the elevator arrived at the fifth floor; followed closely by Ishtar. Honestly, Alister should follow their example; but he was far too nervous when he heard Mutou muttering _Blue Eyes_ in a raspy voice that shouldn’t be heard outside of the privacy of their room. Kaiba responded with an encouraging hum that made Alister incredibly uncomfortable. Walking away at that moment would be too obvious, Alister noted. So he watched the door closes with a heavy heart – and he swore the worst for both Ishtar and Valon.

The ride from the fifth to seventh floor never felt so long. Alister was half-running out of the elevator once he was on his floor. The last he saw them, Mutou and Kaiba were still in a lip-lock. They had their hands around one another in a tight embrace as Kaiba expertly pinned Mutou to the wall. If anything beyond that ever took place in that damned elevator, Alister had no idea and would rather not have the idea. He met Rafael on the way to his room and hurriedly told him to use the elevator on the other wing.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Rafael looked confused.

“That elevator…,” he paused; thumb still pointing at the hallway leading to the elevator Kaiba and Mutou were in, “That… it’s broken”.  
Rafael didn’t seem to buy it.

“Trust me. You’d want to listen to me on this one,” Alister added before going to his room.

* * *

  
Meanwhile in Seto Kaiba’s room was a chase between said teen and his boy lover. They were rolling on the bed; wrestling to get the other under them. Yami, Seto realized, was not one to submit and let himself be led into submission. That is, unless he had no idea what to do. Yami is no girl – or unlike the girls Seto had been with. When Seto pushed him down, it wouldn’t be without a fight. And being a guy, Yami would have the strength and the desire to fight back.

Seto enjoyed it, of course. It took a while, but thanks to that first intimate contact before the quarterfinals, Yami was hooked like babies to candy. He would initiate heated kisses and was acting more cuddly. That last time they made out on the couch he even sulked at Seto for not licking the inside of his mouth well enough. 

He had also pushed Seto down in the middle of the dawn and tried to suck on his neck. It was scary, if you add to the fact that Yami has always been so gentle to Seto; yet cute. Seto decided then, if he had somehow woken up the lust within Yami, then he should be the one to tame and contain it. He would like to own both Yami’s softer side and ruthless side. All of Yami, he desires.

That boy was currently giggling between the pillows as Seto pinned him down and kissed the back of his ear like a pro. Seto almost thought he had him – _almost_ – until he turned them around and be the one on top. Seto caught the glint behind his eyes. It was the look of a kid who just stole the cookie out of the jar.

Yami bent down. As expected, he went to Seto’s neck for revenge. The first lick was quite unnerving; Seto gave him that. If this keep on going, it would be hard for Seto – quite literally.

So Seto gathered his strength and pushed their position around again. However, this time he made sure they were lying on their sides so they could gaze on each other’s eyes. After all, if there was a weakness of Yami he could use, it would be his soft spot for tender moments.

True enough, Yami’s hungry glint depleted to a serene longing and his tight grip on Seto’s shoulders weakened. Seto had long recognized Yami’s tendency to treat him like a treasure. As childish as it sounds, Seto ended up craving for the delicate attention. He liked it when Yami treats him like he was made of glass; as long as he became the sole person to have reached such importance in Yami’s life.

Yami leaned to Seto’s face. The latter was expecting a kiss, but Yami aimed for Seto’s nose instead and nuzzled it with his own nose. Fuck, if this was ever someone else, Seto would have been disgusted. But with Yami, the action tugged on his heart with such force that his knees trembled.

Seto felt a soft touch on the front of his pants. Looking down, he saw Yami playing with the zipper of his pants using the back of his fingers. It was a rather innocent touch though; too gentle and shy to cause anything.  
“Open it,” Seto murmured. Yami’s eyes widened like he didn’t expect to get caught. Seto caressed the inside of Yami’s outreached arm, “It’s fine. Go get it”.

Yami looked down only slightly to see the zipper he’s trying to open. Seto felt the tug on the zip before it was dragged down slowly. Yami actually unbuttoned the pants at the end. Then he hesitated.

Seto’s hand lurched down to Yami’s pants and he unbuckled it with quick and smooth movements. Yami couldn’t even catch him in the middle of doing it. When he looked down at his own crotch, Seto already pulled his dick out in the open.

The next couple of minutes were spent in a slow torturous moments. Yami was resting his forehead to Seto’s collarbone as Seto kissed the top of his head. Their hands were pumping each other’s erection slowly like they were memorizing every shape of said organ. It was that, or they secretly wanted to drag this moment as long as they could. They had been holding back until the quarterfinal is over. But came the semifinal, they wouldn’t have the time to even bid one another good morning. So they wanted to cherish this moment and enjoy it to the fullest.

When things have gotten more heated, they moved to the head of the bed with a position that was an exact remembrance of their last intimate contact. Yami’s back was rested to the headboard; Seto cradled the prior’s legs on his thighs. The thing about Yami is, once he’s so aroused, he seemed to have lost control. Seto watched as Yami leaned his head back till it bumped the headboard, his exposed neck glistened with sweat as it was offered freely to Kaiba.

And this boy was the one who had been struggling with Seto just a moment ago.

“Hey,” Seto called out softly to Yami who had been closing his eyes like he planned to doze soon. The only sign of his awareness was the drawn out hum and the slacked pumping on his own arousal. “Are you still with me?” Seto called out again.

“Mmh?” Yami opened an eye with huge effort. He opened his mouth in order to form a word, but ended up choking a moan. He pumped himself faster. Seto frowned.

“Hey. Don’t forget about me,” Seto wasn’t as drunk (as he was on their last petting). He tucked a strand of hair behind Yami’s ear, which didn’t seem to help Yami either. It was funny, actually, to see Yami like this.

Seto suddenly had the playful idea of pulling Yami till he was lain on the bed. He did so by pulling the boy’s hip back until Yami’s upper torso was dragged down to the bed. The tricolor haired teen didn’t flinch one bit. Curious, Seto caged the shorter boy between his two arms. How should he get Yami’s attention, he wondered.

But he knew what turned Yami on the most. He bent down to kiss the boy’s cheek, then one of his ears. Seto looked up to confirm that he had a bit of Yami’s attention. He returned to Yami’s face and gave the jaw short pecks which then landed to Yami’s neck. Seto sat up again to see that Yami had both of his eyes on him. No protest was seen.

Seto dunked to the neck for another turn; leaving a trail of wet kisses until he reached that lovely spot behind the ear. Yami knew what was coming of course. Seto had a quick peek at Yami’s flushed face to see that the latter was anticipating it. So Seto sank back down to give the neck teasing gentle bites until he felt Yami’s arm cradling his head. Grinning, Seto bit hard and sucked. He felt Yami letting out a long sigh.

That action was the one to finally peaked Yami’s attention enough for him to stop jerking off on his own. When Seto sat up, Yami was watching him dazedly. The shorter teen touched the side of his neck where the mark was made.

“You’ve left a mark,” Yami confirmed more then questioned. He sounded drowsy.

Seto tilted his head and sure enough, the red mark was there under Yami’s left ear. He grunted and flick gently on Yami’s ear. “It’s unsettling how sexy this hickey makes you look”. Seto then went back to Yami’s neck to give it wet kisses all over. In return, Yami released his shaft to circle his arms around Seto.

“Hey,” Seto whispered to Yami’s ear, “Did you forget about me?”

Yami looked down between their bodies to see Seto’s dick poking at his own. It was a rather rude hello considering how hard and bruising it looked next to Yami’s; which was dripping with pre-cum.

“I wonder what to do with that,” Yami drawled as he stared at it. Seto snorted in laughter. He sat up to have a good look at Yami.

“That’s rather cold of you. I thought you’re my boyfriend,” Seto teased the other boy with a flick on his chin. Yami pouted… in a manly fashion.

“You want me to jerk you off?” He sounded more interested to do himself though.

“No. I want to try something else”.

“Something else?”

“Wait here,” Seto said before leaving the bed. He went to the bathroom. This was the first time he’d be doing this with a boy – and knowing the lack of lubrication in males (compared to females, anyway), Seto has to make use of what he has. Conditioner might gave him the most moisture, but it would be too slick. Maybe lotion worked better, but it might dry out.

Seto fetched the lotion (his, not Yami’s) in the end. When he returned, Yami was still in his previous position. He had his hand on his shaft though, which Seto swatted with a wave of a finger. Now that Seto was staring down at the boy, it felt rather sinful to have that stubborn and sassy Yami lying on Seto’s bed in such condition. Yami’s dress shirt had gathered to his chest and he had his bare thighs opened wide to allow Seto between them. The moment Seto held the two legs in his arms, he eyed the puckering hole hidden in-between with such hunger. Pushing into that hole would be something.

“What do you plan to do?”

Seto turned to Yami – or the face of Yami; looking rattled. Yami eyed him suspiciously.

“I’ve been thinking of doing this with you,” Seto was surprised he managed to sound neutral. He squirted a generous amount of lotion onto Yami’s thighs then rubbed it allover. Yami seemed to enjoy the gesture for he started to close his eyes again. Seto had to slap the boy’s belly a bit to wake him up.

Then he rubbed more lotions between Yami’s upper thighs and a bit on Yami’s balls. It’s interesting to note that Yami reacted sharply every time Seto brushed against his sack. In return, he missed the way Seto accidentally grazed his butthole.

“Are you done?” Yami was breathless after the teasing touches. Seto was currently rubbing the lotion on his own erection. He didn’t say a word, but he did lift Yami’s legs and pushed it far enough toward Yami’s chest that the shorter teen’s lower back was lifted from the bed. He crossed Yami’s legs and landed it on his shoulder as he bent further into Yami. Yami gaped at him.

“W-what are you doing?”

Seto didn’t say anything. Instead, he pushed his dick in between Yami’s crossed legs. The erection brushed against Yami’s balls and the brute force of Seto’s strength hit Yami’s hips harshly that Yami bounced slightly off the bed.

They both stared at each other in surprise. Yami’s mouth was wide open. “W-what..?”

Seto didn’t falter one bit. He pushed again before Yami managed to form another word; and again; until Yami gasped from the constant force and the friction on his erection. They ended up finding their pace, in which Yami started touching himself again until they both find completion.

Yami’s legs flopped messily to the mattress once Seto released his hold on them. Yami was gasping heavily, but he was sending accusing glare to his boyfriend. “That was crazy,” he breathed. Seto smirked cockily in the middle of pumping out all of his spent to Yami’s torso. The guy actually swiped a finger on the slicky mess on the inner side of Yami’s thighs and naughtily brushed said finger against the corner of Yami’s lips. Yami swatted the hand away with what sounded like a whine. Seto snickered.

Once satisfied, Seto draped himself over Yami. It felt strange, with the wetness between them and having their sensitive cocks meeting right after their orgasm. The contact made both of them flinch in surprise; causing Seto’s head to bump against Yami’s.  
They both spurted to laughter. Yami circled his arms around Seto’s neck. Seto noted Yami was in the mood for cuddles and pillow talk. Both his legs and arms clamped on Seto tightly as he murmured sweet nothings to the brunette. One of his fingers was twirling itself in Seto’s brown lock. Meanwhile, Seto slowly gnawed on Yami's neck.

Thus there they were; just two half naked boys making a mess on the bed.

It was only the start of the evening. The sun had yet to fully set. Everyone outside must be buzzing about the semifinals (even though half of said semifinalists had retired to their respective suites). In the back of his mind, something reminded Seto of the arrangement for the night.

Actually, both he and Yami had something to do for the night.

As if on cue, the bell to their suite beeped at that exact moment and came the voice of Seto’s assistant from the speaker. _“Seto, you there? I’ve been looking allover for you and Yami! You didn’t pick up your phone”._

Yami was the first to perk up from the bed as he remembered his plan for the night. Seto pushed him down and covered Yami’s mouth with his hand. When Yami looked up at him in bewilderment, Seto smirked and shook his head.

 _Everyone can wait for us,_ he tried telling the boy, _stay with me a little longer._

_“Is Yami there? Mokuba is looking forward for that play date with him”._

Seto shook his head again, calmly.

_“Okay, I’m worried. I’m coming in”._

_Now_ Seto was the one to be alert. Amy owned a copy of their suite’s key (thanks to Pegasus). As a quick measure, Seto made a grab at the blanket under Yami, then he rolled the two of them along with the blanket to the other side of the bed. They ended being rolled together under the thick blanket, then dropped to the floor with a loud thump (and a muffled ‘Ouch!’ from Yami). It was at that exact moment Amy appeared from the separate living area. She halted by the entrance to the bedroom, and observed the innocent roll of blanket with a calculating look.

The assistant sighed and turned her head toward the direction where she came from. “Mokuba, you stay there. You wouldn’t want to see this”.

Seto’s eyes widened at Yami. Mokuba was there.

“’Kaaay,” you could hear the younger Kaiba from afar. From the lazy answer, you’d imagine him slouching on the hallway by the door, probably playing with KC’s latest handheld console. Seto sighed in relief for not having his brother viewing this scene.

But Mokuba didn’t stop there, “Wait – what do you mean?”

Amy kept on looking at that direction, possibly to where Mokuba was standing beyond the partition of the bedroom and the living area. “What do you mean ‘what do you mean’?”

“What do you mean I wont like it?” Mokuba asked silently. When Amy didn’t answer, the boy continued, “… are they… fucking?”

“No they’re not,” Amy answered curtly, “At least they aren’t, currently”.

“Oh my God. They are fucking!” Mokuba sounded horrified, “My brother is in the middle of fucking Yami, isn’t he?”

Everyone could heard Yami’s offended ‘Hey!’; which they decided to ignore. Amy clucked her tongue, “Look, Mokuba –“

“We. Are. Not. Fucking!” Seto insisted from under the blanket, “And we weren’t. Not yet!”

Amy blinked lazily then turned to the silly mess Seto got himself into. From the way she’s seeing it, it looked like a giant spring roll made of blanket landed itself next to Seto’s disorganized bed. But the bare legs and the messy hair protruding from each ends of the blanket told her a lot of what was going on. “Too late. He bolted out of the room already,” she told Seto.

“FUCK,” Seto’s muffled curse was heard, “And who taught Mokuba all those details? He’s underaged, for fuck’s sake. He needs to associate himself with better people”.

Silence.

“The irony was thick on that one”. And that was Yami.

* * *

**TBC.**

* * *

 

**I don't think that position between Yami and Kaiba is possible to perfect. It's a cliche in every BL; but really though? Unless you're very flexible and has high endurance, maybe. (Surprise me if one of you ever tap that one - or if you ever bed someone. A lot of you are veeeerry young, and I'm mean enough to pick on that fact).**

**But most teenagers would do something silly to experiment with anyway (fruity condom water balloon, anyone?). So I thought the main couple should do one of those unnecessary yoga to climax. Gotta love that extra calorie burn.**

 

 


	12. Pegasus' Reading

NOTES

  1. This chapter is later than usual isn't it? My dad was struck with stroke last week and that threw me off my usual routine. But, good news, the family is faring well with this - though we never had serious health issues before.
  2. The following chapters contains references and is slightly jumpy. I apologize for any mistakes and the weird pacing of the story - I basically wrote bits of this the last two weeks.
  3. In this chapter, Yami and Seto is labeled as puppy love and naive. I wanted to emphasize that this came from Pegasus, an adult. I want to bring you different perspective from each character, and I think it'd be fitting for adults to see their relationship as immature. Because I am making them immature. And there's no shame in that. Puppy love is beautiful with it's naivety. It's a phase, and a lot of us learn from it. And if you're worried if the main couple will stay that way without a hint of happily-ever-after-because-the-relationship-is-all-that-matters-in-the-world, then read the first sentence of the story.



* * *

 

PEGASUS' READING

* * *

 

Once upon a time, Mr. and Mr. Kaiba would be a thing and Maximilion Pegasus would have the front seat to it evolving. However, it’ll take years for them to go from Seto Kaiba and Yami Mutou to that – and decades for the universe to discover how long ago the relationship blossomed. Nowadays, they were still debating whether Kaiba and Mutou would have another duel on the arena and everyone had dismissed the bedroom-sharing allegation to jump into that bandwagon. And Pegasus, though one day would be the infamous duo’s biggest supporter, was currently wasting his time in the company of one Isis Ishtar as she recited (for the hundredth time) about some crazy pharaoh who sacrificed 99 people to create Pegasus’ golden eyeball – which he’d got from a thrift store in Egypt for $10 – so that they could win the ancient version of duel monsters.

Egypt sure had weird rulers in the past.

However much Pegasus adored her fairy-tale epic on the game he created, she would use the narrative to assert that the game was a heritage of her nation. The moment Pegasus nodded at her beautiful storytelling would be the time she expose her real personality and demand Pegasus to pay royalty to Egypt for stealing their culture.

So Pegasus whip his mane gloriously, “You’re saying some batshit royalty did all that to play a card game”.

“It may not impact all of us in this universe, but the pharaoh is supposedly destined to gather the millennium items and –“

“Dear,” Pegasus cut her in his best soothing tone, “It’s just a card game”.

In her mind, Pegasus saw her preparing the onslaught of 10th grade history lesson, one about her country, some crazy pharaoh from thousands of years ago, and a set of golden jewelries (honestly, Pegasus preferred diamonds). It’s so strange now that he took a peek inside her mind, he found that she truly believes what she said. Huh. Young Ishtar might need a therapy (and they say one of the Ishtar twins was the crazy one!).

Thankfully, Mr. Croquet, his butler, entered his lounge to remind Pegasus of his appointment. _Thank Lord,_ Pegasus thought to himself as he left Isis on her own. He never truly liked the girl, but couldn’t deny her company. She was his biggest donator for the event (which she was using to assert her beliefs into the dueling community). That; and he somewhat had a soft spot for a fellow gifted person.

Yes, gifted. Isis Ishtar could see things most people couldn’t. That is something Pegasus relate to. Their gifts were different. Pegasus could see into someone’s mind; and Isis…, he wasn’t sure, but it was probably something of the sort. 

Even with that mutual trait between them, it was not enough for him to allow himself to sit down longer than half an hour with Isis. Pegasus could pull off a charming persona to get friendly with someone; but it was nothing close to genuine attraction. All his life, there were only few who are bearable in his book. Cecilia (Ohh, Cecilia~), his on and off again lover, being one. She’s the daughter of a mafia boss with an ambition to take over the world. Pegasus was just one of her fling, beside her many deals with the world’s leaders and dealing with family’s _business._ Nothing is too big for dear Cecilia (Ohh, Cecilia~); and Pegasus adores that about her.

Then there is Izumi Kaiba; probably one of the most influential women in the history of Japan. She’s one of those woman; the ones who have grace; and a couple of secrets to booth. It just happened that, when you’re Izumi Kaiba, those secrets would have something to do with the national’s security and the sorts. Pegasus adores the time he shared with her; talking about love and war over tea and biscuits.

And with Izumi mentioned, the rest of The Kaibas would follow. Pegasus loves that bunch of beautiful and intelligent people. From Izumi to Mokuba – they all had that striking personality that you’d easily single out from the rest of crowd – except for Gozaburo (the guy needs to sort out his inferiority complex). 

Then there’s Seto Kaiba. You couldn’t miss this one Kaiba with his brilliant achievements. To Pegasus, his passion for duel monster is something he could always relate to. Seto has that love for the game and aspires to make it as alive as possible, which was a dream Pegasus shared. Pegasus had always seen the two of them as likeminded people. Being a talented youth himself once, he could put himself in Seto’s shoes.

However, Seto Kaiba was hardly someone approachable – not even to someone like Pegasus. There’s always something dark looming over the youth’s eyes and more so in his heart. In the rare times Pegasus caught a glimpse of the teen’s emotions, he often saw anger and distrust. It was a sentiment born from years of betrayals and loneliness that was covered nicely behind his tough exterior and ambitions.

Now you might think Pegasus wouldn’t give a single penny toward a stuck up kid. However, this is the grandson of a precious friend. He knew Izumi worries about this teen often. Pegasus couldn’t help but feel the same. Especially after that scandal that led to his isolation.

And Pegasus was specifically tasked by Izumi to watch over Seto in this tournament. She was far too prideful to check on him herself (Oh, feisty feisty Izumi). Pegasus even went as far as taking Mokuba along so that Seto would at least have one pleasant company on his cruise. 

Yet, what Pegasus heard about the Kaiba heir in the tournament was rather disturbing.

Not only was he sharing his suite with another duelist – a very new duelist at that – he also acted different. Actually, he looked happier. A bit distracted, but happier. He talked more and glared less. Which, supposedly, was a good thing.

However, after Saki Ono, Pegasus knew Izumi wouldn’t be too happy with any love interest of her grandson. She thought it was better for her grandson to be a child, for once, and enjoy life in the simplest ways. And she would appreciate it if Seto took a breather from his passionate pursuits.

Not that Pegasus would tell on Seto to Izumi. He thought the kid had enough already. So let Pegasus be the sword and shield for now and handle this himself.

“Sir, we have yet to locate Seto Kaiba and Yami Mutou,” Mr. Croquet whispered to his ear as Pegasus sat on his throne. Pegasus kept a neutral face. Seto and that Mutou boy were not in their best term when they faced each other in the final. It was to be expected, especially closing into the finals. Best friends became enemies; lovers became exes; siblings became nemesis. It happens. And if that was the case between Seto and Mutou too, then there’s nothing left for Pegasus to do.

“Have you checked their room?” Pegasus was informed of their arrangement the minute Seto demanded it on his check-in. Mr. Croquet bowed slightly before stepping back.

“I’ll send someone over”.

And with that Pegasus warily watched the crowd from his private gallery. Below him was a horde of duel monsters enthusiast; from corrupt sponsors, to the overly-friendly members of the press, to fans with too much money to spend. As they mingled, the theories behind the latest duel they’ve seen kept on piling over one another – not knowing that the top two finalists they vigorously discussed about were nowhere near the vicinity.

A theory would stay a theory though. It’s a pity, Pegasus thought, that these lot missed plenty of what was going on under the surface. Pegasus, being _Pegasus,_ was only lucky to have a glimpse thanks to his gift. Thus, the spectators had no idea that Mutou and Seto climbed onto the arena with fury against the other party. They had no idea Mutou and Seto had their first argument the night before. These people were too mystified by these two’s known strong presence on the stage; one for his fiery attitude, the other for his icy silence; And so they missed the fact that these two duelists were really just teenagers in that awkward stage of puberty. They’d get upset over the silliest things in the silliest ways.

Pegasus knew of the fight only because the raw emotions were spilling from their minds as they dueled. It seemed like a rather silent duel (minus the excitement from the spectators seat); but to Pegasus it’s comparable to watching a married couple’s dispute. Both were accusing the other of their actions or, in actuality, their lack of actions. After all, the main cause of their fight was having their boyfriend not making the first move to say, “I don’t want to duel you”.

It’s not that they wanted the other to step down from the duel; in fact, they each would be the first to put some sense on the other’s mind if that ever happened. The real nature of this desire was that naïve demand to be constantly assured by your love interest that whatever competition they’re facing shall not affect their relationship. Both boys wanted it and could have said it their selves; but they’re both so equally prideful that they wouldn’t stoop down until the other says it first. The fact that no ‘sorry’ was said (again, expecting the other boy to say it first) added fuel to their anger that it all exploded to a silent banter on the dueling arena.

Lucky enough the duel was so intense that Pegasus could distract himself from the internal debate these boys had. It was a duel of the century too. To think a no-name duelist could corner Seto Kaiba to a below 100 LP margin. It was one of those duels you’d talk about decades later as some historic milestone. Indeed, it was phenomenal; and it would stay so as long as people don’t discover that these two were not just fighting, but actually _fighting._

So no wonder Pegasus suspected the two to break whatever relationship they were having currently. At the point they were going, it was bound to end before it surfaced to the public. People would never notice it probably, considering how fast they dismissed the room-sharing allegation.

“Sir”.

Mr. Croquet returned his side. This time he bent even closer to Pegasus ear. He looked wary – and Pegasus wondered if Seto Kaiba had finally killed someone over an argument with his boyfriend.

“We’ve found Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Mutou making out in the hallway, Sir”.

Pegasus froze. “Repeat that over me”.

Mr. Croquet gulped like he was reconsidering his choice of words. “We’ve found Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Mutou,” he took a breath, _“kissing_ in the hallway, Sir. The staff is assisting them separately into the ballroom”.

Pegasus blinked dumbly to a random point in the crowd – in which Balfry Ginger thought Pegasus was looking at him and he cheerily waved. Pegasus, still dumbfounded by this discovery, absently waved back. He didn’t miss his butler the first time. They were making out in the hallway. It was nothing scandalous like being kissed by a married woman in front of your schoolmates, of course; and the hallways had to be deserted with the gala dinner taking place. Still though, he was missing something.

How could these two boys make up?

“Dismissed,” Pegasus told Mr. Croquet flatly. Seto entered the ballroom at that exact moment with one of Pegasus’ crew on toe. He was instantly surrounded by sponsors who raced to be the first to congratulate him. Minutes later, Mutou entered from another entrance to the room.

Mutou was quickly swarmed by a horde of people who had waited for him, most of them being his admirers. Sponsor representatives sent him stares from afar as they foresaw the bright future ahead of him and his main charm points. Yami Mutou was a symbol of hope; the proof that a small town kid could also make it to this stage. Among the finalists line up this year, he’s the only newbie duelist and the only one with no significant background. Both Kaiba and Ishtar, for example, were from prestigious household. The members of Doma had rough childhood, but that knowledge was dwarfed by their contract to the giant corporation, Atlantic Inc., that was the parent company of their management. The sponsors were debating on how to present their selves to Mutou and get him to board their boat. 

Mutou would be the prey for a while. Not that it was a part of Pegasus concern.

“Send a special invitation for Mr. Mutou to my private office after the gala,” Pegasus whispered to Mr. Croquet, who stood diligently by his side, “And send someone to watch Seto Kaiba at the after party”.

Mr. Croquet nodded. And now that the arrangements were made, Pegasus could finally mingle with his sponsors and duelists. He enjoyed the time he spent on the podium to give his speech (admittedly, he was a bit tipsy) and the insta-worthy moment he had when grabbinv the crystal trophy for the champion of the tournament. Mokuba assisted him to carry the medals as the two hosts called for the winner of the tournament.

“Let us call for the winner of this year’s Duelist Kingdom,” a pause filled with dramatic lighting effect and music, “Seto Kaiba!!”

* * *

  
The gala ended at 11.30 pm and would continue on to the after party until dawn. Pegasus had to retreat from the event for a moment to meet Yami Mutou face to face.  
Because that handshake on the stage when Pegasus gave him his medal was not enough.

It takes a lot for him to be able to use his gift and delve deep into someone’s mind. The easy way to do it was to lower the defense of someone’s wall. The walls surrounding the human mind usually shatters under pressure; and dueling would be one of the best ways to create that pressure. He had lured a lot of people into this trap; covering it up as an innocent mock duel before pushing them into the corner until their mind gave up under harsh concentration and allowed Pegasus to easily peer onto their darkest secrets. 

Of course, he had told himself to not do it unless necessary. It was very intrusive – although he had always been intrusive if you add in the fact that he’s a mind reader since he’s very young. So why not use the same trick with Yami Mutou?

Pegasus was settled with this plan. However, when he’s about to enter the office, Pegasus saw something in the corner of his sight. It was Isis.

“There’s something wrong. In no universe has the priest ever beaten the pharaoh”.

Pegasus rolled his eyes toward the door before turning to the girl. She’s lucky her money meant too much for this event. “Well, Isis dear, then maybe things are different in this universe, has that ever hit you?” Pegasus tried his best to put on his fragrant smile, “Maybe this Pharaoh, Priest, and… golden jewelries,” ugh, her constant preaching had gotten into him, “means nothing in this universe. Just… nothing”.

“They’re called the millennium items,” she corrected, “and they are –“.

“Then tell me something that has yet to happen, and I’ll show you it will turn out differently”.

Isis closed her eyes for a moment, “You’ll be defeated by the Pharaoh with the support of his soul-bound partner and his friends. They will create a barrier to protect his mind from your all-seeing eye”.

Pegasus chuckled softly. He returned to the door and said as he opened it; “Silly girl; I’ve never been beaten once”.

* * *

  
Mutou was already waiting by Pegasus’ dueling desk along with Mr. Croquet. Pegasus put on his charming smile and offered his hand to the boy. “Yami-boy~!”

Mutou was taken aback by Pegasus sudden use of his first name (and the endearment that followed). But he shook Pegasus’ hand with enthusiasm. “Mr. Pegasus, it’s an honor”.

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Pegasus replied before offering the seat on the other side of the dueling desk. “Drinks?”

Pegasus could hear ‘ _hmm, not in the mood for anything sweet after that gala dinner_ ’ crossing Mutou’s mind, to which he added, “Or maybe just water?”

Mutou nodded hastily, “Just water, if you don’t mind”. Mr. Croquet complied with the order and the usual, a glass of red wine, for Pegasus.

“So Yami-boy,” Pegasus started once Mr. Croquet left, “How does it feel to place second in your first Duelist Kingdom? It’s interesting to see the second place attracting more attention than the first champion”.

Mutou looked neutral, but deep down he regretted the fact that he lost to Kaiba. The thought was cut short by the appreciation of gaining so many supporters. “I suppose everyone’s no longer surprised at Kaiba’s presence in the number one spot,” he chuckled.

_He’s charming_ , Pegasus thought as he took the golden case for his deck. The second he saw it, Yami knew why Pegasus summoned him.

“I have to say, I instantly feel like dueling you,” Pegasus added. He sensed the excitement oozing from Mutou until he checked his blazer’s inner pocket to notice something. _Damn, I forgot to bring my deck_.

He voiced it to Pegasus, “Am I allowed to get my deck first?”

Yet Pegasus knew there was a deck of dueling monsters cards inside Mutou’s pocket; but it wasn’t his. When Pegasus peered inside Mutou’s mind, he saw a kid that looked like Mutou handing over the deck.

_“Me and grandpa built this for you,”_ said the kid from the memory. Pegasus felt himself, in Mutou’s shoes, taking the offered deck. _“It’s nothing big or anything though! Don’t ever think of using it in the final – if you make it there. It’s just something fun,”_ the kid added hurriedly. And afterwards Pegasus felt the love, the protectiveness, and the gratefulness Mutou felt toward this boy. There was something deep between them – something beyond the bond of blood.

_“Thanks, Aibou,”_ was the thought that rang through Pegasus head in Mutou’s voice. Mutou seemed to appreciate the gesture that he brought the deck within his pocket, the one closest to his heart, as a token of luck. As much as it was sweet, Pegasus thought this information was unnecessary.

“Oh my, I don’t think I’d have the time to wait. I wasn’t proposing for anything serious! I just thought that we can chat over a duel, as fellow duelists. But, considering my schedule and all, maybe we can duel another day or maybe tomorrow – can we, Mr. Croquet?” Pegasus turned to his butler, who just returned with their drink.

“Unfortunately, you’re booked for the rest of the day tomorrow, Sir,” Mr. Croquet played along. Because what Pegasus is aiming was not the duel; he was aiming for Mutou’s motives toward Seto Kaiba – and he needed to duel Mutou now to find out.

“Ah, a pity! I suppose we can just chat –“

“Wait!” Mutou disrupted quickly and pulled out the deck from his pocket, “I have a deck with me. It’s just that, I don’t know the cards in it”.

Pegasus grinned. No duelist would refuse the offer to duel the creator of the game itself. It’s a rare chance, considering Pegasus had long retired from dueling in official tournament. It’s easy to get bored of the game you’d win easily. “That’s better than great, Yami-boy!” 

He saw Mutou smirking at him from behind his deck as he scoured through it. In him, Pegasus saw confidence, boldness, and the series of cards he was looking. The deck was definitely unlike what Mutou would use in the tournament. And surprisingly, Pegasus saw a lot of toon cards, which was Pegasus’ favorite.

“I’m ready,” Mutou said shortly after flipping through his deck. It was obvious he hurried through it to not waste Pegasus’ time.

“Let’s duel!”

The duel started with basic moves and Pegasus took his time to build his trap. Mutou, according to his insight, was building his too, not that Pegasus didn’t know what those traps are. Meanwhile they had an interesting chat, mostly surrounding the interesting face-offs in this year’s Duelist Kingdom and the duelists they both thought would be interesting to duel.

It was on Mutou’s eighth turn did he recognize how easily Pegasus deterred all his traps and attacks. Pegasus saw him staring intensely at his cards – and there he saw it; the tension his opponents would have once they notice that Pegasus seemed to be able to see through their strategy. “Could he be reading my mind?” Was the exact though that went through Mutou’s head.

Pegasus had to give it to him, actually, for putting it together earlier on the game. Most opponents only realized it after their LP was too suffering to be saved. And the ones who knew of Pegasus’ gift, such as Seto Kaiba, would down-right refuse to duel him.

Mutou’s mind was still reeling from his conclusion. Surprisingly, Pegasus found him to be rather calm and collected. Even now, in the middle of his discovery, the teen was able to sort through the premises of his conclusion before weighing it’s possibility against reality. His calculating eyes were directed toward Pegasus form. And Pegasus basked under the attention. It was fun, Pegasus supposed, to finally be analyzed by someone with some sense.

Too bad that wit of his wouldn’t save him from defeat. Neither would it be enough for him to be accepted as Seto’s lover.

Seto needs someone who could put him first before their own needs and ambitions. Saki Ono might seem like a good natured women; but no woman without ill will would embarrass a child in front of his peers or betray her own husband and son.

“Your turn,” Pegasus reminded when Mutou paused for too long. The boy looked slightly startled, but quickly returned his focus to his card.

Suddenly Pegasus heard Seto’s voice in Mutou’s mind.

_“Watch out for that creep. He literally creeps into your mind”._

Ah, so that’s why both Izumi and Seto often had the word ‘Creep’ in their mind every time they saw Pegasus. It’s funny how he wasn’t able to read both Seto’s and Izumi’s mind most of the time, probably because they’re both very grounded. The rare times they slipped out a thought to Pegasus would be when they’re too emotional or when they were thinking about that word. Pegasus understood how emotions could lower someone’s wall; but why would creep came out to Pegasus a lot? It’s almost as if the Kaiba’s wanted Pegasus to read that thought.

Whatever. The thing was, that voice of Seto came from Mutou’s memory. And now Mutou was adding that ambiguous words of Seto to his own conclusion. He’s assured now. And he’s watching Pegasus like a hawk.

Pegasus smiled innocently. “What would you do now, Yami-boy?”

Mutou looked down and chuckled instead.

“I’m going to do something crazy”.

Pegasus arched his eyebrows when Mutou patted his deck. “This card, I put all my trust on it. Because Aibou built it for me”. Then he lowered the cards in his hand, face down; and took a card from the deck. 

Without looking at the card he took, he announced that he’s padding it to the field on attack right before he opened it. Mr. Croquet, who acted as their score-keeper, bent down carefully to have a good look at the card.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Mutou, that’s a spell card and it can’t be applied to any monsters you have on your field”.

“I know,” Mutou smirked. As rule dictates, he shall return it to his closed hand and take another card. “Then I’ll put this on attack!” he opened the card to show a monster card with 1000 ATK. 

So that was how Mutou planned to face Pegasus’ gift. He’d put any card on attack or defense position without looking at it. It was a reckless strategy. He wouldn’t be able to set a trap or spell cards properly. Which means, he wouldn’t be able to use any combo. The problem was, Mutou looked so confident while he’s pulling off this stupid stunt. Pegasus had heard about his bluffing prowess on the arena. They said Mutou was good at provoking his opponents with his cockiness; even when he’s in a pinch.

Pegasus peered back into Mutou’s mind to see no strategy or plan for the game. The guy was really pulling this stunt; he’s going to use his wild guesses to play. 

Two more turns for each of them and the strategy didn’t seem to help Mutou. His LP kept on going lower, and Pegasus still had his _Toon World._ Yet the more card Mutou opened, the more Mutou’s mind grew further from the game.

It seemed like this Aibou person built the deck with a message in mind; because each card triggered different memories in Mutou. And, maybe, because Mutou no longer focusing on defeating Pegasus, he started seeing this card less as his ammunition, and more like a memorabilia from a dear person.

One card, _The Red-Eyes B. Dragon_ , pulled out a blond haired teen from Mutou’s mind. The memory was a bit vague, but the blond boy’s appearance was so vivid – signifying a strong bond between them. The blond was looking at a card in what seemed to be a classroom filled with faceless students. _“A dragon card!! Awesome man!! Ya know wha? If I ever get da chance ta fight moneybags, ya lend dis card ta me and Imma beat his sorry ass with dis!”_

Then, on the next turn, Mutou pulled _Cyber Commander_ which called a memory of another teen with short brown hair bowing his head under clasped hands _. “Please, Yami, I beg you! Please don’t tell Joey! He’ll kill me!!”_

_“You know how I feel about someone dating my younger brother in secret, Tristan!”_ Was Mutou’s reply.

_“Ugh, I know Tea betrayed you greatly on that one – but you’re no Joey!! He’ll beat me up if he found out I’ve been visiting his sister behind his back!”_

_“I don’t know…”_

_“Tell you what! I’ll give you this card!”_

The brown haired teen handed Mutou the _Cyber Commander_. _“You know I can’t be brib – where did you get this card?”_

_“S’cool huh? Just like me!”_

_The Magician of Faith_ card took Mutou to a memory where he dueled against a white haired teen in what seemed to be a schoolyard. He had a crowd of faceless people, most likely fellow students, surrounding the lunch table they were using as a prop; and the two boys from the previous memories rooting for him by his side. It was then that a brown haired girl tumbled into the scene and asked everyone to give her way.

_“Sorry I’m late! What’s this, you have one card facing down Yami!”_ the girl said once she arrived by Mutou’s side. Without thinking, she turned a card around, exposing it as _Magician of Faith_. The rest of the boys along with the crowd howled in panic after the move; in which the girl looked around stupidly, “ _What? WHAT? What did I do?”_

While the girl’s action would be a nightmare for any duelist; it seemed like the duel ended well for Mutou in the end. The yellow sky and the roar of laughter in the background, one you’d hear in a sitcom, were signs that this memory was deemed positively by Mutou despite the growl he gave the girl after her stunt.

Not long after recapping that memory, Mutou pulled out _Gold Sarcophagus_ and _Monster Reborn_ in one turn, which triggered a memory of him sitting in a room filled with toys, puzzles, and art pieces displayed on the walls. Another teen that looked so much like Mutou from behind was sitting by the desk facing the other way. Mutou himself was scouring through a deck of dueling monsters cards when he said.

_“Your choice of cards are getting more and more different everyday Aibou. And I thought you’d choose something more like mine,”_ Mutou said to the other teen in the room.

Aibou turned to face Mutou with a pout, _“No one wants to be compared to their older brother all the time, you know”._ It was rather ironic, considering their looks.

_“Aah, you’re in that age. It’s not cute”._

_“We’re only a year apart!”_ Aibou whined, to which Mutou snickered.

_“But what’s wrong with being the similar? I think we’re such a match I’d believe we’ve shared a body once in a past life,”_ Mutou said. Aibou knitted his eyebrows.

_“I don’t think that’s possible –“_

_“Like in that movie where a dead king ended up living within a modern day kid’s body”_.

Aibou sighed and said, _“If you were a dead king trying to mooch up to me, then I’ll pull a_ Gol _d_ Sarcophagus _and_ Monster Reborn _on you so you’ll stay dead”._

It was meant to be a joke, but Mutou seemed to take it as though his brother really did that to him. The whole room turned blue and dark as a result. Aibou seemed to grow further and further; signaling loneliness and sadness. _“Would you really, Aibou?”_ was Mutou’s timid question to his little brother.

When Aibou looked at him again, it was with a very sad smile. _“Well, the dead doesn’t belong with the living,”_ he paused as though reviewing what he said, _“But then it’ll make me sad. It’s hard to imagine living without you. I’m grateful you’re not some weird soul of a dead king.”_

The blue hue blanketing the room changed to that of a deep orange-ish color; signaling warmth and somberness. And Aibou seemed to grow closer as Mutou felt cherished once again. _“Thanks Aibou. I cant imagine losing you from my life either”._

Before Pegasus pulled away from the memory, he felt like he heard the remaining part of the memory still ringing in his ears. He heard Aibou saying, _“Could you believe Grandpa said the puzzle he gave me for my birthday was believed to contain the soul of a dead king?”_ And when Pegasus finally take a look at the real-life Mutou, who was still staring at his Monster Reborn, he could still the Mutou of the memory chuckling;

_“Better call an exorcist for that one!”_

Pegasus sighed tiredly after that last memory. Sure, his gift was great, but he’s limited to the thoughts people brought to the forefront of their mind. In the cases he need to delve deeper, he needed his target to lower their defense. Mutou, however, was in nowhere affected negatively by the duel. Instead, his mind was filled with unnecessary memories that were more silly than they were important.

Pegasus was out of his wit on how to dig through Mutou’s mind. He was closing in onto forcing the information out of the guy when Mutou magically pulled out a _Blue-Eyes White Dragon_ from his deck. Which was a great coincidence; there were only four _Blue Eyes White Dragons_ out there and Seto owned three of them

Wait.

_Blue Eyes White Dragon!_

Seto Kaiba!

True enough, everything in the room started blurring away as Pegasus felt himself being casted into Mutou’s memory. His office morphed to a familiar hallway in his cruise ship. The place was made out in great detail, signaling a fresh memory. Mutou was walking briskly in the middle of the hallway with his head down. A set of hurried steps followed him behind, but Mutou refused to check behind him.

_“Yami, wait!”_

It was Seto, and he was getting closer.

_“Wait!”_ A strong hand reached out to Mutou’s arm and pulled the shorter teen roughly. Being the stubborn guy he was, Mutou showed his resistance by pulling back. There was a struggle here as the two boy tried to get their points across.

_“Let. Me. Go, Seto! I’m not in the mood to talk right now!!”_ Mutou growled behind clenched teeth. Seto didn’t give up.

_“Just listen to me for a minute!”_

_“No! I really need some time alone!”_ Mutou denied once again, this time trying his hardest to escape Seto’s grip on his arm. _“You’ve got your victory now. Happy!?”_ He escaped Seto, finally; but before he was able to run, a pair of strong arms captured him from behind in a tight embrace.

_“Just listen!”_ Seto grunted to Yami’s ear. They both were catching their breath after the struggle; Seto’s chest to Yami’s back. _“Look, I… That deck I used to defeat you... I… I have been working hard on it for two months”._

It was strange for Pegasus to see The Seto Kaiba struggling to form his words. Yami, in the other hand, was simply silent, but attentive.

Seto continued, _“And building that deck was easy because I only had you on my mind for the last two months”._

Mutou lifted his head and blinked owlishly. Meanwhile, the elevator door at the end of the hallway opened to reveal a giant pink arrow. Not a literal one from the real event, of course; the arrow was a product of Mutou's playful imagination. It dashed toward Mutou’s direction and pierced right through his heart, causing pink dust to burst. Pegasus distanced himself from Mutou’s emotion enough until he was able to manifest as separate form in the memory. He stood next to the two teen with a scowl and two hands on his hips.

_“Really, Yami-boy? You were angry at him for wanting to defeat you, and now you were touched because he said he wanted to defeat you too? What’s the difference!! I don’t get you!!”_ Pegasus exclaimed dramatically as he watched Mutou’s still form. _“Oh wait a minute! Of course… Of course they were different. Of course!!”_

Because Seto’s silence before the duel meant, 'I like you, but I still want to defeat you'; while Seto’s explanation now meant, 'I’m only strong enough to defeat you because I like you'. And for a duel fanatic like Mutou, it was the most romantic thing a person could tell him.

Seto turned Mutou around to face him; his two hands holding Mutou by his upper arms. _“I just want you to..,”_ Seto continued as he stared intensely into Mutou’s eyes. Seto looked so desperate, _“Just… just stop ignoring me”._

It was then that the walls of the hallways seemed to grow speakers because Pegasus was hearing the booming sound of a beating heart. 

THUMP.

The hallway was suddenly bathed in dark pink. Seto was blinking, slowly – extremely slowly like it was in slow motion.

**THUMP.**

The brown haired teen bent his head closer to Mutou; eyes closed; as if proposing a kiss.

**THUMP.**

_“Oh my Goooodddd,”_ Pegasus complained,

_“My guests were cheering out there after seeing your duel; and this is what you were doing?? Running to each other and doing this? They were paying to see that duel! To see you two!! And this was where you’re at? My goodness”._

Because, of course, this hallway in Mutou’s memory was that used to and from the biggest dueling arena on the cruise; which meant this took place right after their duel.

**THUMP.**

Pegasus deadpanned as the two boys had yet to make their kiss because they were running in slow motion.

_“Enough with this. Just kiss already,”_ Pegasus uttered. As if on cue, Mutou reached out his two hands to Seto’s face and pulled the taller boy forward. Once their lips met; the two boys, along with the surrounding walls of the imaginary hallway, burst into pieces of small pink hearts and a thousand harp-wielding Winged Kuribohs. The Winged Kuribohs formed a whirlwind around a very confused Pegasus all the while playing a melodic tune with their harp.

The Winged Kuribohs then grew in size before changing into a thousand Mokubas dressed like cupid; singing, _“Seto and Yami, sitting on a tree. F.U.C.K.I.N.G”._

_“Mokuba!”_ Pegasus warned, _“Who taught you that word? Grandma is going to be so mad when she hears about this!!”_

The whirlwind of singing Mokubas diminished to a cloud of purple smoke. When the smoke departed, Pegasus found himself in a room. He recognized it as the luxury suite on his ship. But it looked different. Normally the room had white walls with golden and white themed furniture. Meanwhile, this one was covered in red – that deep shade of dark red. Unless it was supposedly white and gold, but Mutou’s mind drenched it red. And didn’t red means…

Passion?

The sound of something hitting the wall stole Pegasus’ attention. He craned his neck toward the entrance, catching both Seto and Mutou in a heated lip-lock as they stumbled into the room and hit the wall. Seto pulled away. When Mutou leaned forward for another kiss, the taller teen pushed him back to the wall.

_“Let me show you something,”_ Seto hummed. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and unfolded it. He held it by it’s two tip, forming a triangle, and rolled it until it formed some sort of a rope; all the while smirking cheekily at Mutou. When he slipped the rope through Mutou’s wristbands, Mutou chuckled.

_“This feels kinky,”_ he said. Both snickered after that. _“It is kinky,”_ Seto replied with a peck on Mutou’s lips before he lifted the tied hands and hooked it on the hanger on top of Mutou’s head.

You could hear the two boys bickering lightly about the light bondage. Pegasus was assured nothing strange would happen when the walls were suddenly filled with scribbles of poetic lyrics – starting from how Mutou planned to caress every single tendril of Seto’s hair to the shameless repeat of all possible versions of 'I like Seto Kaiba'– which were more embarrassing than it was artistic. Then he heard the sharp squeak – yes, it’s definitely Mutou’s – from the hallway. Turned out Seto had launched an attack on the shorter’s neck till Mutou couldn’t help but squirm defenselessly when a hand unbuckled his belt.

_“What are you planning?”_ Was Mutou’s only question. _“You’ll see,”_ Seto said teasingly. 

Pegasus had a bad feeling when Seto got to his knees and lifted Mutou’s dress shirt so he could kiss the side of Mutou’s belly button. With a teasing glance upward to Mutou, he dipped his tongue into the naval.

Okay, Pegasus felt the urgent need to escape the room now.

But the more he covered his eyes, the more he saw the memory through Mutou’s eyes; where Seto Kaiba had been looking up while he unzip Mutou’s pants with his teeth. Pegasus ran to the double door leading to the balcony, only to find it unable to open. The memory was limited to that suite alone. He wasn’t looking at those two, but he knew what kind of look Seto was sending Yami Mutou. When the brunet stood to give Mutou another series of wet kisses; Mutou’s mind exploded to millions of cheesy pickup lines that overwhelmed Pegasus with embarrassment.

“Get me out of here!!” Pegasus shrieked as the memory went on. The walls had now screamed along with him; reading excerpts of every love poems Yami had ever written for his lover. Pegasus bang the door leading to the balcony in desperation. Behind his eyelids, Pegasus could see Seto sticking his forehead to Mutou’s as he slowly unclasped the top button of Mutou’s pants. With one last peck on the lips, Seto then returned to his knees. The brunet kissed the taut stomach teasingly before biting the hem of Mutou’s underwear.

You’d know how he was planning to service Mutou.

Pegasus’ banging on the door grew more frantic. _“Let me out of here!!! Let me out!!”_ His screams were swallowed by the onslaught of poetry the walls were singing. Seto pulled the boxer brief with his teeth. Pegasus roared, **“MR. CROQUET!!”**

“Yes, Sir?”

Pegasus blinked owlishly at the dueling desk. He was scrunched to it with his two fists on top as though he had just slammed the desk. “I was…,” did Pegasus just screamed Mr. Croquet name in the real world too? “I was wondering what you were trying to do to Yami-boy”.

Mr. Croquet was standing rather close to Mutou. “I was asking if he wanted to put the card on the field or not,” the butler answered curtly. Mutou was still staring hard at _Blue-Eyes White Dragon_. If you were no mind reader, you’d think he was planning his next move. It’s a wonder how he keeps such a straight face while recapping a naughty memory.

“I’ll put it on… attack, I guess,” Mutou said finally, sounding distracted despite looking so confident. Pegasus shook his head to brush off the oncoming headache. The rest of the duel was the worst in dueling history. Pegasus ended up cowering from Mutou’s mind (and thinking about the duel) and Mutou was playing with the silliest strategy. You wouldn’t believe these were two of the greatest duelists to ever exist.

The duel ended with Mutou’s shameless victory (and that was only possible after Pegasus decided not to read his mind again). On their handshake after the awkward duel, Pegasus struggled to form his words. “Great game,” he swallowed the falseness behind those words. They both knew it’s a lie.

Mutou opened his mouth to respond, but was halted when Mokuba entered the room with an accusing finger pointed at Pegasus. “I knew it!! Seto has been looking all over for Yami!!” The kid put himself between Pegasus and Mutou, “Imma tell Seto on you!!”

Pegasus rolled his eyes in disinterest.

“Then Seto will tell Aunty Cecilia!”

The white haired man gaped. If Cecilia ever found out he had unleashed his power yet again at another duelist, she’ll whip him hard for sure. “Ohh, Cecilia~!”

* * *

  
“Your defeat had long been fated”.

Pegasus stopped chugging his champagne and rolled his eyes. Of course she would be here to ruin his fun.

“Dearest Isis! Aren’t you suppose to be on your brother’s side? It’s his first time in a tournament,” he forced out a smile – hinting boldly at Malik’s real identity. Because while Malik’s a household name in the dueling community, _Marik_ wasn’t.

Isis eyed the crowd stiffly as Pegasus asked for a refill to Mr. Croquet. It was clear that she wanted something – an answer. Pegasus took a sip from his third glass of champagne for the day.

“Isis dearest, tell me who those friends of Pharaoh are,” Pegasus started lightly while keeping his eyes on the crowd. The young woman approached his side.

“One is a dancer girl, two were an enemy turned comrades; and,” she paused, “another is half of his soul”.

Pegasus saw the images of their faces as Isis mentioned them. Each of them matched the girl from _The Magician of Faith_ card and the boys from _Cyber Commander_ and _Red Eyes B. Dragon_. Half of his soul was, obviously, the person called Aibou.

One person was missing though.

“And how about Seto Kaiba?” He turned slowly to the girl, “Is he among them too?”

Isis returned his gaze. “No. Seto Kaiba is a rival”.

Pegasus smirked before taking another sip. “Then you are greatly mistaken, Dear Isis. The, uhh, Pharaoh might have defeated me, but he’s only capable of doing that because he has Seto Kaiba in the forefront of his mind. Not his... four  _companions_ ," and it was ridiculous how much the Blue Eyes White Dragon card triggered Mutou. There’s no doubt about it; Yami Mutou adores Seto Kaiba thoroughly. The moment he remembered Seto, his mind sang those silly poets. It was such an intense adoration that Pegasus head was filled with those embarrassing lyrics about Seto’s lips even after Mutou left his office.

Pegasus had decided, Izumi should dealt with this lover boy menace on her own if she ever wanted Seto to stay lonely forever. Besides, Mutou’s intention toward Seto was pure; it was intense, it was immature and it was innocent – it’s puppy love. Such intention was hardly harmful: but boy was it the hardest to face. There’s no way Pegasus would come close to any teenage boy’s mind ever again.

“Seto Kaiba in The Pharaoh’s mind?” Isis seemed confused.

“Yes. Apparently he gave Mutou a blowjob after their duel,” he grinned creepily at Isis, “Such young souls”.

Isis eyes widened in silent surprise. She then turned her head to observe the guests in the ballroom. “Is it possible to change our faith?”.

“Seems easy for Mutou. He’s good at improvising,” Pegasus replied absently. When Isis sent him a clueless look, Pegasus flicked an eyebrow; “Let’s just say it’s a duelist intuition”.

He played Mutou in a game after all. It was obvious that Mutou was comfortable with improvising in the middle of a game. He’s clearly different to Seto who’d plan ahead to the point of playing strictly by the rules. Maybe that’s why it takes plenty defeats in the privacy of Seto’s study for him to finally managed a master plan to beat Mutou.

And if you ask Pegasus the main recipe to winning a duel; there was none. Every duel has it’s own challenges and requirement. To beat Seto you’d need to be unpredictable, for example. Which was why he ended up getting tie with Marik – someone whom, unlike his twin, Seto never dueled before. It was also why someone who could pull out a trick in the middle of the duel like Mutou was such a kryptonite to him.

But Seto would need someone like that. In fact, the dueling community needs someone like that. Mutou would be able to spice up the competition a little bit.

He needed to stop being such a sap though. Do teenagers nowadays still write poems?

“Do you see Mutou?”

Pegasus snapped his head to the left to see a distraught-looking Seto. The teen duelist was so distracted that his mind was spilled directly to Pegasus. It was interesting to note that in Seto Kaiba’s mind everyone’s faces, beside Pegasus’ and Isis’, were blurred until they looked like faceless mannequin.

“I don’t see Mutou,” Pegasus lied, “Have you checked his – uh – room?”

“He’s not in our room,” there was no hesitation in calling the room theirs.

“Huh,” Pegasus feigned cluelessness, “Where could he be?” It was then Mokuba appeared from behind Seto with an accusing glare directed toward Pegasus. He stopped next to his brother and haughtily announced his finding.

“I’ve found Yami,” he sneaked a couple of dirty looks toward Pegasus. Seto was far too distracted to notice. Before Mokuba was able to inform Seto of Pegasus’ petty crime, Seto cut him to the chase; “Where’s he?”

Mokuba pointed to the other direction with his chin, “He’s there”.

The desire that struck Seto was so strong that his thoughts spilled into Pegasus without warning. The moment Seto turned his head and caught the sight of his lover, his mind painted the whole room in passionate red. The sound of siren going off filled the background of his mind when he stopped to see Mutou head to toe. Everything went in slow motion and Seto zeroed in on his boyfriend’s face.

Mutou was somehow bathed under an unseen orange light, that complimented his olive toned skin brilliantly. There’s a windy effect that seemed to blow his hair in that perfect commercial-like aesthetic. He craned his head in a mesmerizing motion; practically letting Seto’s eyes roam over his glistening neck and exposed chest under unbuttoned shirt. The sound of siren quickly dulled to the sound of heartbeat and raspy breath. Mutou was now slowly undressing himself while eyeing Seto flirtatiously.

_“There’s a spot within me,”_ Mutou could be heard saying. Somehow he was dangerously half naked; _“That only you can find…”_

_“…Seto”._

_Seto. That_ was the cue that reminded Pegasus he was indeed in Seto’s mind. He quickly pulled himself together and flee from the gravity of the other’s thoughts. When he returned to himself; Pegasus was gawking at nothing, clearly surprised (and disgusted) at what he had witnessed in Seto’s mind. Because that was not memory; neither was it reality. It was fantasy.

A dirty fantasy of a hormonal teen.

And It made Pegasus sick. Not only was this of two under-aged boys, but it also involved his friend’s grandson. Remind him again not to mess with kids in the middle of their puberty. Their thoughts ran wild; and it’s too much for middle aged man like himself.

In reality, Mutou was not undressing himself nor was he saying any nonsense about getting Seto to find his… something. Instead, he was talking excitedly about his conversation with Marik – whom he just discovered to be a fan of Pikachu. And Seto had been watching the shorter teen talk in a lust-induced daze. Izumi 

Pegasus rather not know the rest (nor did he plan to get another earful of Mokuba accusing him of things). Unfortunately, his only choice of escape was Isis.

“Dearest Isis, let people be people and choose their own faith,” Pegasus smiled tightly, “So how about a duel between our talents; a mind reader and a fortune teller –“

“I am not a fortune teller”.

“Oh, hush! You Egyptians and your pride. Lets go, shall we?”

* * *

**TBC.**

* * *

**The cards mentioned in this chapter along with the respective characters they were connected with are actually references to occurences in the manga/anime. Cyber Commander and Magician of Faith are both the cards Tristan and Tea became when Yami dueled Bakura. Red Eyes B. Dragon is obviously the card that's often named as Joey's favorite, and Yugi played the Golden Sarcophagus plus Monster Reborn when he played against Yami in the final chapters.  The two cards combined disabled Yami from taking a monster from his graveyard and it contains the powerful message from Yugi that the dead should stay dead (and that became one of the most memorable moves in the saga).**

 


	13. The Cheerleader's Favorite

  
“So in the course of two days, we’re hoping that class 11-1 would be prepared with the names of your volunteers and participants. I believe we have a representative willing to cooperate?” Yami questioned the whole classroom. His stead was calm and confident; like a king demanding his servants’ full attention. A male student rose his hand from the seat in the middle, to which the Student Council's secretary took note of.

“Talk to me after class,” the secretary told the class rep curtly. Yami, who stood next to her, continued on explaining the school’s once every three years festival and how everyone’s expected to participate. It was one of those boring announcement from the Student Council’s representatives, but even the most foul-mouthed kid in the class was put to silence. Because no one dared to go against Yami Mutou. He had long earned everyone’s respect in Domino High.

Tea, who sat two rows from the back and to the left of the classroom, yawned lightly. Unlike this herd of mute followers of Yami, she had grown immune to Yami’s charismatic charm. Sure, she gets the hype of his characterization. Yami came off as confident and a team player. He also has a strong personality and intelligence to boot. But she had known him long enough to be turned off by his melancholic whiney nature that, fortunately for him, only ever showed up around the people he’s comfortable with.

Tea humped in boredom and crossed her arms, accidentally catching the sight of a fellow cheerleader in her class who was winking her way. Yura, her name, mouthed, ‘Your boyfriend’s so cool!’

‘We’re not dating!’ Tea mouthed back apologetically. Yura smiled at her meaningfully as though saying ' _Sure, you don’t'._

“It’s not voluntary if you make it mandatory”.

Tea turned to her right to see Seto Kaiba leaning back to his seat with crossed arms. Everyone followed her example. After all, no one ever said anything against The Yami Mutou.

“We have a full week of school projects just next week. None of us would do this voluntarily,” Kaiba continued. You could see a number of students nodding along. Tea eyed Yami carefully. He had that stead on; the pose that said he’s coming to get you.

“It’s the Student Council’s job to make sure that every class has a fair participation in the event,” Yami replied sternly. The whole class was now looking between the two with wary eyes. Everyone, especially the boys, had known of their last encounter in a world renowned stage called Duelist Kingdom. Long story short, everyone suspected a bit of bad blood between the two.

“It’s not fair when you’re the one to decide the numbers of participation from each class without considering each class’ circumstances,” Kaiba insisted coolly, “Fair means opening the opportunity to anyone without batting an eye which class they represents”.

A buzz of agreement could be heard. While Tea couldn’t help but agree, she could never stomach the idea of Yami losing the favor of the crowd nor losing his cool. Yami was known to be fierce, but he never lost his temper so visibly.

Tea saw Yami glaring back at Kaiba from the teacher’s desk. One of the guy sitting at the back hollered an excited ‘Oh!’ to provoke the two – absolutely expecting a fight. For once, Tea was sure Yami was going to lose it, only to see him looking down with a smile before lifting his chin again. “You know what, I think that’s brilliant”.

The Student Council’s Secretary gaped stupidly at Yami’s comment. Yami arched his eyebrows dramatically at her, “Hey, don’t deny it. He’s kinda right!” The tricolor haired teen laughed charmingly, to which even Tea admitted to be attractive. He said, “I wish it could be done as easily too. But The Student Council doesn’t consist of only myself. It takes more to change it for the better. I’m sure The Council needs more forward thinking people like yourself to help with this event, Kaiba”.

The Secretary, along with the rest of the class now eyed Kaiba. They were expecting a clap back of some sort, a table flipped, anything. Rumor has it that he had applied for the Council, but hasn’t made a proper rank to do anything inside it. Kaiba simply looked back at Yami with heated gaze; his form tense but elegant.

“Sure,” Kaiba said finally, “I’ll show you how to do your job”.

“Hooooo,” everyone seemed to say in unison. Yami seemed to think it was silly for he chuckled lightly.

“Great. Now Class 11-1 has one volunteer listed. We’ll be looking forward to your participation, Kaiba,” Yami said coolly right before the bell rang. “Okay, we’re done here,” He sent a look to the secretary, who was frowning with disbelief at Kaiba. “C’mon. Enjoy your break, everyone!”

With Yami and the Council’s secretary departure, everyone left their desks to discuss what just transpired in their classroom. Yura instantly had her seat dragged to Tea’s desk. They were soon joined by Lily and Ann; both were cheerleaders from different classes. Tea couldn’t say that the four of them were the best of pals – she had the gang to fill in that role. But when you’re the cheer team captain, you’re bound to have this kind of followers.

“Couldn’t believe your boyfriend has to face against Seto Kaiba!” Yura shrieked, “He’s a tough rival to beat!”

Tea wondered what kind of face off she imagined the two of them have. “Me and Yami are not dating, Yura”.

“Yeah, right. And Seto Kaiba was soo fierce!” She gushed, “I think I’m in love!”

Lily, one of the cheerleaders who actually has some sense, perked up from her phone; “I thought you fancy Yami?”

“I do, but…,” she eyed Tea teasingly, “Because he’s taken, I’ll let him be and set my eyes on someone alike”.

“I’ve seen him. Yami’s brother,” Lily added, “He goes to the art club with my cousin. He looks a lot like Yami, doesn’t he?” Lily turned to Tea as though expecting an answer.

Tea nodded, but she’d rather not introduce Yugi to any of her team mates. Yugi is exclusively hers.

“Ugh! No, silly! Yami’s brother is so different to Yami! They look like each other, but they act nothing alike. Heard the younger brother's a bit geeky,” Yura blurted, “Besides, what I meant by alike is Seto Kaiba. Don’t you guys think those two are high and mighty? They’re so interesting!”

“I don’t get all this,” Ann, the mindless tomboy, said absently. Meanwhile Tea caught Lily whispering the word geeky to herself. If she ever set her eyes on Yugi, Tea will…

“Aren’t you nervous, Tea?” Yura was suddenly right in front of her face. Tea flinched away. “Your guy is being challenged by The Great Seto Kaiba”.

Tea forced a laugh. “No! No, I’m cool. Yami needs someone to go against him once in a while,” she waved a hand. The girls looked at each other skeptically.

“Isn’t he like… The King though?”

“No! The Pharaoh!”

“Yeah, The Pharaoh! That’s what they called him in tenth grade! No one should go against The Pharaoh!”

“Wait why was Yami named The Pharaoh again?”

Tea sighed as the memory came to her. “It’s Bakura,” she answered them.

“Oh yeah!” Ann exclaimed, “That cruel senior who was a bully! I was there when he challenged Yami. He’s nasty! The teachers were all afraid of him. I heard he almost burnt the school building once”.

“How was that possible?” Yura’s brows knitted, “And I don’t know what was up with him, but I remember he used to pick on Yami a lot. He likes to pick on the underclassmen, I heard”.

“It’s because of Yami’s name,” Tea chimed, “They both shared the same first name”. It’s silly now that she look back on it. A Senior challenged a freshman for a duel to decide who has the full right to be called Yami – which is funny, because according to Joey, who was almost dragged to be Bakura’s lackey, no one dared to call Bakura by any name but King Bakura back then. But of course Yami, being Yami, took the challenge too seriously he even declared Bakura as The Thief King for using stolen cards to duel. After defeating Bakura, he wore the title Pharaoh with such pride it was embarrassing.

But everyone adores and loves Yami for that reason. So Tea let them be disillusioned by Yami’s charisma. His sappy self was saved for the ones who truly matters after all.

“It was ridiculous,” Lily uttered with a final tone, “That Bakura person. Thankfully he has graduated. But Kaiba, damn. Kaiba could be a threat to Yami”.

“Hm?” Tea’s eyes rounded.

“They’re rivals on the dueling arena right?” Lily said silently, “Have you ever thought that they might hate one another?”

Tea blinked. She turned to her right to see Seto Kaiba sitting two desks away. The brunet was still eyeing the door Yami was leaving from.

 _You guys are mistaken,_ Tea thought as she took note of Kaiba’s every moves. The guy was now looking down at his lap; smiling secretly.

_Those two are dating._

* * *

  
A lot of people would be surprised if they ever found out which Mutou Tea was really dating. Even now, they were gossiping about Tea and Yami being caught eating ice cream together last Sunday. Which was true, of course. Yami had treated her for an ice cream; but that didn’t mean they’re dating.

Instead, once seated inside the ice cream shop, she quickly addressed the strange discoloration under Yami’s left ear to which Yami jumped for a long unnecessary explanation.

_“Is it too obvious I’m using a concealer? Seto bit me too hard yesterday”._

And those words made Yami looked a lot older than he was before leaving for Duelist Kingdom. She questioned herself if it was possible for someone to change that much in just two weeks. Sure, standing on the final face-off in a world-renowned competition could make you more confident; but Yami changed like he had matured over the last couple of weeks without Tea. And it felt strange to miss a chunk of Yami’s journey after being his buddy of more than ten years.

_“I know you’ll judge me for this, Tea, but I wish… he kissed me a bit longer last night”._

Tea remembered seeing him sitting back against the ice cream shop’s seating while rubbing the spot under his ear thoughtfully. The air around him felt different just then. He looked like an adult.

_“I never knew being hugged by another guy could feel so good, you know?”_

Tea remembered squeaking in surprise once she heard Kaiba and Yami had slept together. Nothing sexual, Yami had insisted, but that was a surprise to Tea. She and Yugi had long suspected Yami and Kaiba’s relationship ever since the start of their rendezvous. But sharing a room was unlike Yami… nor Kaiba.

_“I’m surprised I agreed so easily to the idea too. Seto’s like that. He treats relationships casually. I think he dated someone before,” Tea remembered Yami saying, “He’s so pushy, Tea! Bossy! Always decide first and asks opinion later. I don’t know, he’s just so… so brash! You wouldn’t believe what he had me done in those two weeks. Darn, I couldn’t believe I did all of those with him in such a short amount of time. I should have told him to slow down”._

_“But he’s so irresistible. I couldn’t say no to that handsome face"._

Then Yami kept on smiling dreamily to himself. Tea remembered not being able to put together the Kaiba Yami was seeing and the Kaiba she had seen at school.

Seto Kaiba never say much nor do much. In fact he seemed well mannered most of the time. The only time he ever did something rude was when Joey – being Joey – overwhelms him his first day in Domino High. Couldn’t really blame Joey though, a lot of guys looks up to Kaiba for his innovation on their childhood game; but Joey could be a bit over the top sometimes. And it was Kaiba’s first day at such an alien place. Thus, the word Mutt came out; inflicting a one-sided rivalry on Joey’s side.

But overall Seto Kaiba was different to what the public made him out to be. Back then, you’ll hear he was rude and mean even to his older co workers at Kaiba Corp. But to Domino High’s students, he’s your typical silent star student - one of those popular student you’ve heard of, but never knew personally.

“He is rude though”.

That was not the sound of her imagination. Tea turned to see Yami standing by the Student Council’s office door with a couple of Student Council’s members surrounding him. Yami was rubbing his temple and frowning.

“I know you’ve been in a competition with him, Yami. But I’m in his class. He’s such an honor student!” A classmate of Tea blurted to Yami, “Who knows! He might be the one to change our Student Council for the better!”

Yami was sighing heavily. “Guys, let me tell you. He hates the school, kay?”

His listeners rolled their eyes and said a, “Yea right, Yami” to his face. Tea perked his head behind them just then. “Tea! You’re here, great!” Yami called out half-heartedly. The rest of The Council members looked at her and dispersed. The guy from before, who was in the same class as Tea, patted her shoulder on his way. “You lovebirds have your chat. And Tea, tell your boyfriend to sort out his problem with Kaiba. He might be the Pharaoh, but no King would stand a chance against The Seto Kaiba.”

“Hey!” Yami hit the back of the guy’s head playfully using a rolled paper. The guy fled, chuckling.

“What’s going on?” Tea probed curiously. Yami sighed yet again.

“The Council caught a word about Seto’s proclamation and they’re convinced Seto would be their savior for the next Student President’s election,” he replied flatly.

Tea put her words carefully, “They thought he could be the next President?”

“Yes,” Yami gave her a tightlipped smile, “His attitude back in your class gave them false hope”.

“How about you? I thought you’ll be running for president”.

“Me? No! I have my dueling career to think about,” Yami squared his shoulder proudly. Tea booed.

“So you’re absolute Kaiba wouldn’t be interested. He said a lot for someone who isn’t interested in the Council”.

“Tea – Girl, listen to me,” Yami crossed his arms and leaned to the door frame, “He might act like an honor student; but he smokes at school and he badtalks everyone behind their backs. He abhors this place and its people, more so the teachers. So why would he care for The Student Council?”

When Tea kept her silence, Yami added, “Look, what he did in your class? He was flirting at me. That’s all”.

Tea blinked dumbly at the guy she had befriended since preschool. How confident could this guy get?

Yami opened the rolled paper in his hand and shifted in a way that warned Tea that he wanted sonething. “Anyhow, Tea, I called you here hoping you’ll volunteer for your class. Pretty please?” He pulled his best puppy look, which ended up looking like a Dobermann ready to chase you down. Tea huffed.

“You heard what Kaiba said back then,” she reminded.

“If only it was as easy as he said it,” Yami sighed before leaning closer to Tea, “Come on, Tea. Please. I have to gather as many people as I can. Maybe you can get that cheerleader friend from your class to help out too!” he then hurriedly added, “I’ll treat you to another ice cream, Girl. For three weeks”.

“Ugh, deal. But you have to get Tristan and Joey to do the same,” Tea relented.

“Cool,” Yami cheered almost instantly, “I already have your names on the volunteer list anyway. I can’t reach Tristan though – could he maybe left his mobi –“

“Awww, look at you two,” a girl cooed from behind Yami. Yami turned around with a scowl. “Miss Cheer Captain and The Future School President. How cute,” She continued.

“Duelist, Miss President. I’m a duelist!!” Yami told the School President. He turned to Tea with an uncharacteristic sluggishness, “Geez, I don’t get why they think I’m interested”.

Tea wondered too.

* * *

  
It wasn’t easy living a high school life where you’re put in a box. Both Yami and Tea were lucky to be in a box everyone competed to go in. It was the box reserved for the coolest crowd; and it was painfully the fakest one of all. Thus, they missed the tomboy behind Tea’s pretty looks and dancer figure.

Not that Tea aspired to be Queen Bee. She was crowned the best girl since kindergarten. And together with Yami, who has the natural talent to shepherd the other kids, they were the couple their peers looked up to.

Too bad Tea never looked at Yami that way. She tried in fifth grade; ended up crushing on Yugi.

But if there is any unexpected pairing out there, Yami and Seto Kaiba would be one. And it wasn’t because of their genders. It was specifically because they both seem so equal in many aspects that people think they were better off as rivals.

Not that most people have the best judgements. They missed the fact that Yami had only been such a busybody since his mother disappearance. He took up the strong and confident persona to cope with loss though he sometimes slipped to his melancholic character. Yami could be a bit whiney and immature instead. He would appear to be the main cockblock in Tea and Yugi’s love story; sometimes coming out of nowhere in the middle of an almost kiss just to call “Aibou” numerous times until Yugi could do nothing else but relent. That was the Yami Mutou behind the mask; and only a few were (un)fortunate to witness it.

Meanwhile not much was known about Seto Kaiba according to most in Domino. In a glance he came off as a silent and good-mannered student. But to Yami, he was apparently an overbearing Young Master with a knack for finding the fault in everything. He's a bit rebellious and has commited a couple of bad habbits (smoking in school, drinking alcohols).

It was strange to know that the kid everyone thought to be bad happened to be the saint; and the one you thought to be the goody-two-shoes turned out to be the troublesome kind. The thing is, people tend to judge by the cover. And sometimes it’s easier to follow their opinions than to explain yourself.

So that’s why when Yura asked her if people were easily fooled by appearance, Tea agreed. “See? She agrees with me!” Yura announced proudly to their group of four on their way from cheer practice. Ann, who stood idly with her mobile in hand, looked down to check their instagram account.

“But they really said we look like a group of models,” Ann insisted. Lily finished her box of low fat chocolate milk and threw it into a nearby bin. “They’re empty compliments Ann. They’ve seen us in our uniform in our other pictures and the name of our account clearly states that we’re a cheerleading team,” Lily explained.

“Oh, who knows, Lil! Last week, my cousin brought his college friends over and they all thought I’m a college student even though I was working on my eleventh grade homework! People are dumb sometimes!” Yura turned to the Cheer Captain, “Right, Tea?”

Tea smiled secretly. “Maaaybe,” she teased, knowing full well none of them were better than the next guy. What would they do if they ever finds out Tea dated the other Mutou brother? The one they called geeky? Better yet, what would they do if they ever find out the two hottest guys in school are dating each other?

Yura pouted – then jumped in excitement. “Ooh, I know! We should upload another pic in our instagram! I know just the right place to get a good shot!” She beamed, “And the timing is great! We can all look cute and adorable in our school uniform – we’ll see if anyone would say we look like an idol group!”

“Where is this place you’re talking about?” Lily asked.

“It’s by the empty canal not far from the park. There’s a bridge there with a rustic tunnel below – and that spot is awesome! A bit deserted, so we better get there before dark”.

Everyone looked skeptical. They all heard of the empty canal. It was one of those old and abandoned place no one wanted to visit. “I was planning to go home, but if everyone go, I’ll go,” Lily said, but she was only looking at Tea. Their eyes met for a lingering second before Tea put on her brightest voice.

“I’ll go. It sounds fun”.

And just like that, she worked her magic. Suddenly, the doubts seemed like it was never there at all.

They spent their walk to the canal giggling on the week’s gossip – one of them being The Thief King Bakura’s second coming to Domino. “He moved to UK for good, that's for sure,” Ann chimed as they entered the park. A couple of children waved at them and a little more actually gushed after seeing four pretty big sisters. Yura led them to the footpath between the lines of trees surrounding the park. The footpath was clearly unsheltered. A couple of steps further, they were growing restless on Yura’s idea. The girl’s a bit airheaded.

Thankfully they reached a clearing after a fifteen minute walk. The canal was rather huge and empty; but clean. They walked to a round platform overlooking the canal below. Apparently the sky’s view was awesome from this spot.

“Not bad, Yura. I was suspecting you had no idea what you’re saying,” Ann blurted.

“Of course I know what I’m saying. Anyhow, this isn’t the spot I was talking about. This spot used to be the hotspot for lovers when Mom’s in highschool; but I guess they stopped coming after the canal was drained,” Yura muttered as she walked to a stairscase leading below, “Follow me, you guys!”

They went down to the huge pavement canal and crossed it until they reached a small bridge with a gravity covered tunnel under it. It was big enough for a person to go in.

They ended up taking many pictures there. It was made perfect by the orange hues from the flushing sky that bathed the whole canal. Around that time, their silhouettes showed itself by appearing bigger; and they all had fun with it. Tea was surprised she ended up enjoying this random trip to take pictures. She wasn’t the type to enjoy such activities, but this was seriously fun.

“Kay, a quick dare! Who’d be brave enough to keep this lipstick all the way back home?” Ann pointed at her own dark blue coated lips. They all had the same lipstick on. Yura brought it with her to school silently and they all decided a last minute touch up for their photoshoot would be nice. They all ended up looking like a bunch of bad girls in a gang; but it was an exciting theme for a picture.

“I’m in!” Tea chirped bravely.

“I’ll do that too!” Lily winked elegantly, looking uncharacteristically bold in her dark lips.

“Mom already saw me with this yesterday,” Yura complained, “Your parents will be surprised though!”

“Mom will throw a fit,” Lily chimed. Once it hit them that someone they knew would see their lips, they all laughed. They went to the staircase while reviewing the pictures on Ann’s mobile.

“We should take a picture on the lover’s hotspot above! The sunset view is perfect from there,” Yura climbed the steps, but then turned around to wink “It might inspire Tea to go there with Yami”.

She ran ahead of them on the steps while giggling to herself. Then she gave an abrupt stop once she almost reached the end of the steps. The rest of the girls were made confused by her sudden change of mood.

“What’s wrong?” Ann was the one to ask for she waa right behind Yura. However, she ended up stopping only a step behind the girl as though enchanted by something. Tea and Lily followed suit. What they found ahead was surprising.

There were two people kissing on the balcony facing the canal. It was a couple of two boys - in Domino High uniform. With the sun blinding their sight, it took a while for them to recognize the two. But the hair was a huge giveaway in one boy's case. Then it became obvious.

It's Yami and Kaiba.

Yami stood between Kaiba’s legs as the latter sat on the railing. Both had their hands off of the other; with Yami’s in his pockets and Seto’s on his sides; yet the scene didn’t lack any sort of intimacy. Tea saw Yami letting go of the brunet slowly only to smile shyly. He might have noticed something on his right because he suddenly looked their way.

Yami’s eyes instantly grew wide and the soft expression he just held turned rigid. He quickly looked away, coughed, and took a step back from Kaiba – not that it would help him any. Kaiba, on the other hand, seemed extremely calm for someone who had been busted.

Tea jumped in to help her best friend by getting the girls to leave the place. She coughed and hummed a soft yet authoritative, “Lets go” to the girls before leading them away by taking ahold of Yura’s hand. The walk passing the two boys was awkward and tense, with Lily growing obviously nervous, Ann whispering ‘Shit’ nonstop to herself and Yura looking back and forth between Yami and Tea like she couldn’t figure out what was going on. Kaiba’s cold unreadable gaze was unmoved from the girls as they walked by; and Tea tried her best to act docile and calm. She was going to collect her reward from Yami after this.

The girls almost left the clearing when Yura suddenly stopped yet again. Tea, who had been half-dragging the girl, turned to her curiously. She looked haunted, and Tea swore Yura mouthed ‘What’s going on?’ to her before gaping at Tea as though she figured it out by herself. Maybe she understood from Tea’s casual reaction to the event. There was never Tea and Yami. Tea and Yami never dated!

The stupidest thing happened just then. Maybe Tea should have seen the warning when Yura send a determined gaze her way. So when Yura turned around to face the young couple behind them, Tea was left dumbfounded.

“You look good!!” She shouted at the two. Yami looked back at them with wide eyes.

“Together!” She added.

“Yeah, you guys are cute!” Lily – the silent one – joined her.  Tea was gaping at the back of her head. “We support you!” Lily continued.

“Yeah!” Yura agreed rather loudly. At this point, Tea saw Yami turning away robotically. Kaiba simply arched an eyebrow at them from behind his shorter lover. This whole thing was ridiculous.

“Gays are cool!” This time it was Ann.

“Yeah!”

“Everyone should be gay!!”

“Yeah!”

Tea shook her head and sighed heavily. Meanwhile Yami had fully turned his back at them; probably too embarassed for words. “Cut it out,” Tea said silently after meeting Kaiba’s steely expression.

“Hush, Tea! We have to deliver our support!” Yura whispered back then returned to the two boys, “You two should stay cute together!!”

Yes, people are easily fooled; but support can come in the most unexpected and silliest ways. Tea sent an apologetic look toward Kaiba, who had his arms crossed and was glaring. Sorry, Kaiba; there was no stopping the cheerleaders.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**This chapter was written in small parts in the course of two-three weeks because I am sooo busy with helping out at home after Dad was released from the hospital. Believe it or not, when I spent the night in the hospital, I heard a girl giggling outside the window around 4.20 am (and outside the window is a long way down to the ground from the 7th floor). Believe me; dont believe me - I swear it's true. I might be hallucinating or something.**

**Lastly, I apologize for the late update. There's no agreed time to update, but some of you might notice I used to update regularly. I am now my Dad's caregiver until he could walk on his own. It's tough, but I am faring well.**

**Anyhow, thats all from me. See you on the next update!**

 


	14. The School's Dilemmatic Finding

* * *

 

 ****THE SCHOOL'S DILEMMATIC FINDING

* * *

 

To most of Domino High, the relationship between Mutou and Kaiba was a mystery. Surely, their frequent confrontation indicated they were more than strangers. Everyone knows that Mutou had faced Kaiba in Duelist Kingdom; so does that mean they were friends or were they foes?

Even now the volunteers gathering inside the Student Council eyed between them back and forth as they bantered. And Mutou was sending the taller brunet that fierce look. The last time Domino High had ever witnessed the look on Mutou’s face was when King Bakura challenged him.

Still, Kaiba was another favorite of this High School. So as much as Domino High loves Mutou when he’s slaying; they’d rather not have him go after The Seto Kaiba.

Thus the tension was high and everyone had gone wary when both Mutou and Kaiba glared at one another; Mutou leaning to a desk and Kaiba stood ahead of him. Joey and Tristan, both known to be Mutou’s ‘lackeys’, were present and they were throwing petty insults left and right at Kaiba whenever they can. Not that they bothered Kaiba one bit. The way he was looking, it was clear he was focusing on Mutou and the rest were white noises.

Thankfully they both looked down on their paper before the tension breaks loose. Mutou coughed, “So yes, the festival is about bonding with the community and our alumnus. Yes, we care about profit, but money isn’t the core value of this event”.

At the same time, Seto Kaiba could be heard muttering ‘Semantics’ under his breath. The two of them had been debating whether this event is a fundraising event – which basically had no importance in this meeting.

“I’ve assigned each of you to different teams – it’s on the paper I’ve handed you. I expect you guys to contact the person in charge in your team as soon as possible,” Yami lifted his chin and crossed his arms proudly, “Each team will hold a meeting everyday after school,” this is followed by grumbles, “Calm down – there will be free food and entertainment – so be there”.

“Entertainment?” Someone from the group of volunteers perked up.

“Dan, our treasurer is a self-described talented singer. He’s our most prized piece of entertainment here in the student council,” Yami pointed at a chubby guy sitting in the center of a smaller crowd while hugging a stack of flyers. Obviously it was a joke, at least seeing the flamboyant way Dan was waving their ways. A moan of dissappointment errupted.

“Oh, don’t be so sad. At least we have our own buffet here in the Student Council. And free sodas in core meetings. Sometimes we have free ramen or pizzas,” Yami continued. This time, the students around him threw high fives with each other – who would say no to free pizzas?

The students were then dismissed to enjoy snacks in The Council’s personalized buffet consisting of chips, jellybeans, and cereals. Yami was there, with the Student President giving him compliments for taking care of the volunteers so well. Tea, the rumored girlfriend, was also there; yet she didn’t seem to pay much attention. Instead, Joey hooked an arm around Yami’s shoulder rather protectively.

“Yami, if moneybags bothered ya, y’could tell me,” a thumb pointed at himself, Joey gruffed, “I’mma teach’em a lesson”.

“Wow, wow, wow,” The President cut him short, “I cant allow any violence to happen at school”.

“Just jokin’, just jokin’. But ya can depend on me, Yami”.

Miss Student President crossed her arms, "Hey!”

Seto Kaiba appeared then right across Yami, who was scooping some chips into his plastic cup. The Student President and Joey turned their heads simultaneously; both were stunned by the presence of The Kaiba heir. Who would’ve thought a Kaiba with a refined taste would mingle by this humble buffet, eating commoners potato chips.

The guy took a bite on a chip. Both the Student President, Joey, and the rest of students present inside the Student Council’s office, watched with slacked jaws (the cheerleader in Tea’s class seemed excited for no reason though). The brunet shrugged after a taste. Strangely, Yami didn’t seem to care.

“Honestly, I’m rather in the mood for cookies,” Kaiba muttered out of the blue.

A moment of silence, and then;

“Ya arrogant prick! Who d’ya think you are to tell The Council wha’ ta do -!” Joey started, but was disrupted by The Student President as she jumped in excitement.

“Cookies! Yes, cookies. How brilliant! Everyone would love to have cookies in the buffet, right?” She beamed, “Anything to make you stay, Kaiba!”

“Miss President! Y’can’t let him run over ya!!”

“Oh, hush it, Wheeler. Everyone can appreciate more additions to the buffet. Someone here can volunteer to bake,” The President ignored Yura’s plead to let her bake and instead pointed at Tristan, who was sharing a bowl of candies with Tea; “You, Taylor! You bake!”

“Yami won’t be happy abou’ dis!” Joey insisted, “He won’t stay silent!”

“Won’t you, Yami?” The Student President addressed the aforementioned guy. Yami, who had been standing between the two, swallowed a jelly bean.

“Cookies would be fine,” Yami murmured. Joey’s dumbfounded expression could be seen from behind Yami’s head – looking left and right in horror. The Student President, however, grinned.

“See? He agrees with me!”

* * *

  
What they didn’t know was that ‘cookies’ is a code between their two favorite boys. When one of them said ‘cookies’ to the other, it would mean asking for alone time together – and when at school it would always mean to meet on the rooftop as usual.

It’s been difficult to meet up eversince their return from Duelist Kingdom. Yami’s hands were full with Student Council’s activities and Seto’s class had to be busied with projects. The only time they had time together was that time by the canal, but they were busted by Tea’s clubmates instead (they didn’t spill anything out, but the looks they’re sending both Yami and Seto were strange).

This time though, they must see each other again. Admittedly, Duelist Kingdom had been out of control for Yami. He never imagined to do all those with the boy he liked so soon into their relationship. Yami regretted it; but he loved it. He couldn’t relate to that boy he became in the weeks he partook in Duelist Kingdom, but boy did Yami envy him. Yami wanted to return to Seto’s embrace – but with enough control to not go too far.

So the tricolor haired boy climbed the flight of steps to the rooftop with that in mind; hands clasping and unclasping as he anticipate seeing his Blue Eyed boyfriend. Once he slip through the door, he saw the taller teen sitting cross-legged not far to the left. Seto was immersed with his mobile. Yami smiled.

“Hey,” he called the beautiful blue eyed teen. Seto took a peek from behind his phone, silently mumbling a curt ‘Hey’ back.

Yami approached Seto and mirrored the latter. He sat down facing Seto and quickly looked into his phone. The secretary had texted him.

**Secretary:** _Are we having muffin 2morro?_

Yami frowned.

_I_ _m sure they said cookies_

**Secretary:** _I can make muffins_  
**Secretary:** _My muffins r so good_  
**Secretary:** _Theyll get all the boys 2 the yard_

Seto had now put his mobile down and was watching Yami. Those blue eyes were intense, Yami thought. The latter smiled at the other boy and said, “Wait up”, then typed his reply to the secretary.

_U do u, girl_

He put his phone down and returned Seto’s gaze. Seto looked rather high and mighty with his chin lifted and a smug look plastered on his face. Yami couldn’t help but smile back; “What?”

Yami got a kiss on the lips instead. _Cute._

“What is this?” Yami played dumb.

Seto didn’t hesitate to answer, “I missed you”. He said that with such a straight face that Yami was struck yet again. “I missed you too,” he confessed back in a whisper. He felt like kissing Seto – though he shouldn’t. They had gone too fast in Duelist Kingdom; they should really stop messing around.

But Seto couldn’t stop being such an irresistible guy, could he?

Yami found himself staring at the other’s lips as he leaned closer – slowly – toward Seto. He unknownly closed his eyes. When the expected collision should have taken place; he found no lips welcoming his. So Yami opened his eyes; to find Seto leaning away with a cocky smirk.

“What?” Yami questioned curiously.

Seto slipped out his tongue and pointed at it. Yami sighed and decided to relent; anything to get another kiss out of Seto. But the moment Yami pulled out his tongue; Seto pounced on his lips. The slow-built moment took a drastic turn to a scorching make out session in no time.

Yami was carried away. It was no question how good Seto was at kissing. He bit Yami’s tongue and sucked it expertly. When they let go, it was merely to gaze into one another’s eyes before they latched on to the other’s lips yet again.

“Yami,” Seto called in the middle of their kiss. Yami let go and landed his forehead on Seto’s. “Sit on my lap,” Seto added.

“I told you I’m not a kid,” Yami grumbled; nose poking accidentally at Seto’s.

“Only a kid would insist they’re not,” Seto rebuked, but soon added softly, “Come on. No one would catch you on my lap anytime soon”.

“Why don’t you get on my lap then?” Yami countered sulkily.

“Because I’m the taller one between the two of us”.

Yami huffed. He wanted to protest, but swallowed it down for the sake of continuing their makeout session. He straighten up and took himself closer to Seto. The brunet had uncrossed his legs slightly to give Yami some space as he leaned to the concrete wall. Yami straddled the two legs carefully, Seto’s knees bumping his bum deliberately to get him closer.

“Come here, babe,” Seto urged softly – smugly. He looped his arms around Yami’s behind and pulled him closer. When Yami finally sat on top of Seto, he was sure he landed on Seto’s crotch. “Atta boy,” Seto teased. If it wasn’t for the kiss that soon followed, Yami was sure to protest.

But the kiss did feel better. With their proximity and the comfort this position offered, they could easily get back into the mood. Yami hooked his arms around Seto’s shoulder as his face now lingered slightly on top of Seto’s. Seto’s hands could now roam freely behind his back and it had been rubbing small circles near Yami’s back dimples.

They paused to stare at one another’s eyes before smooching once again – this time, Yami was the one to bit Seto’s tongue.

 _This is so good_ , Yami thought. Only a moment after vowing not to follow Seto’s impulsive whims, Yami felt like agreeing to Seto’s every suggestions. Spits were exchanged, noses bumping awkwardly, and teeth clacking against the others’; but it was so blissful.

Then Yami felt Seto dragging his lips down to his jaw. Yami pet the fluffy brown hair fondly as he waited for Seto’s endearing bite on the neck. It didn’t come though. Instead, Seto pulled away to look lower – not that low, if you were suggesting – but low enough to not focus on Yami’s neck. He was staring at Yami’s chest actually, and Yami couldn’t help but look down there too.

“Hm?” Yami hummed curiously. Seto said nothing. Instead, he unbuttoned Yami’s blue blazer. “What are you looking for?” Yami asked when Seto stared at Yami’s white shirt.  
Then Seto nuzzled his face of Yami’s chest. Which was adorable, but; “There’s nothing there,” Yami reminded. His phone was buzzing. The secretary had to be excited to be this talkative over the phone.

Seto pulled away from Yami’s shirt to grope around the shorter’s chest. Yami, who was busied with keeping his blazer wide open for Seto to grab around… whatever was not there, blinked dumbly at his boyfriend. He was sad to break the news to Seto; you wouldn’t find two lumps of extra flesh under Yami’s shirt.

But then Seto thumbed the spot. It felt strange, ticklish, but especially electrifying. Yami let go of his hold on the blazer and grabbed Seto’s wrist. “W-what?” He asked I. surprise. Rather than explaining himself, Seto moved his head closer to nuzzle Yami’s chest again. But now he tongued Yami’s right nipples through the latter’s dress shirt.

Yami spontaneously hugged Seto’s head with one arm and propped himself with the other as his body was pushed backwards by Seto’s persistent attack. The shorter teen cringed. “Seto!” He croaked. This nipple-sucking stunt was strange, yet surprisingly intimate. Maybe there were other sexual stuff you could do without having to take off your pants. And this stunt Seto was pulling didn’t lack the embarassment nor the pleasure.

“Seto, stop. I’m not -,” Yami tried to push Seto’s head away from his chest. When he made it, he took a good look at the guy and said, “I’m not a girl”.

Seto looked at him to say, “I know”.

Maybe it was the eyes; or maybe it was manners he said it – from the possessive hold on Yami to the straightforward words – that struck Yami to the core. Thus, when Seto thumbed the two nubs slowly, Yami allowed him. He whimpered a bit, and Seto should’ve known how lucky he was to ever heard that kind of weakness out of Yami’s own mouth.

Seto proceeded to unbutton Yami’s dress shirt; this time while kissing Yami on the lips softly. After he was done with the slow torturous process; he parted the dress shirt to Yami’s sides; not forgetting to slide his hands sensuously on Yami’s slim frame.

Yami’s chocolate nipples were slightly erect. But they weren’t big enough to gain any attention. “There’s nothing there,” he repeated to Seto, who was staring quite intently.

Seto looked up. Yami swore he looked mischievious when he tilted his head and smirked. “Is there really?” he said back before brushing his thumbs over them. Yami flinched at the tingly sensation before he felt the thumbs pressing down intently.

Yami gasped, hard.

The next thing Seto did was to kiss the hardened right nub before lapping his tongue over it. Yami gasped behind gritted teeth as his boyfriend experimentally licked him, meanwhile Seto’s right hand played with Yami’s left chest. When Seto pulled away, it wasn’t without a curious look at Yami’s chest. And Yami just knew he had something in mind.

“Cut it out,” he hissed at Seto – which didn’t sound convincing at all. Seto then mouthed his right nipple again; this time, he bit hard and sucked.

It was probably the first time Yami ever moaned that lewdly – it was choked and cut short as he swallowed his voice down though. They both dropped to the ground, with Yami on his back and red-faced. But as they heard that soft thud of their bodies hitting the concrete floor, they also heard the sound of the noisy door opening. Yami was the one to turn his head toward the door to check if he was imagining it. What he found instead was Coach Morty, their PE teacher, gawking back at him.

The next moment was chaotic. Yami pushed Seto off by the head – which didn’t help him one bit considering the latter was all over him from above. “It’s not what you think!” Yami tried to explain as he sat from his vulnerable pose. However, his exposed chest and Seto’s shameless look as he hovered close by Yami’s face said too much.

“I-it’s not – we didn’t -!” Yami sputtered again; palm pushing Seto’s head away from himself as he tried to cover his upper torso with his dress shirt. The Coach, unfortunately, noted the wet spot on the shirt, right on top of Yami’s right nipples – and seeing Yami’s pale look and Seto’s smug one, he should’ve been able to put two on two together.

* * *

  
It’s been awhile since Amy was last summoned to the school; but it was the first in such urgency and short notice. She wondered what it was this time. The last time she was here, the principal had been praising every little thing about Seto – which she didn’t mind. The kid could be unbearably haughty plenty times, but the moment people acknowledged his wit, it brought a bit of pride to her.

Maybe they wanted to honor him with a reward, she thought as she pat away a speck of invisible dust off of her turtleneck, or maybe they wanted to thank me?

But the moment she was greeted by Ms. Suzuki before going into the Principal’s office, she doubted this meeting was all about flaunting Seto’s best traits. Ms. Suzuki had been looking at everywhere but Amy, and she was fidgeting.

“Should I be worried, Ms. Suzuki?” Amy voiced her wonderment. Ms. Suzuki let out a very strange croon.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she gushed, “Coach Morty is convincing the principal to put the boys on an after-school session”.

“… you mean like detention?”

“Yes, yes. Isn’t that what they call it overseas?”

Amy nodded. “Are you informed of what Seto had done to earn such attitude from a teacher?”

“I… Oh, I don’t know. Coach Morty is rather disciplined, but the boys are usually well-behaved so I…”

This time Amy was the one to look away. She hoped Seto didn’t expose his smoking nor drinking habit at school. These people were disillusioned by his honor student posterior, and Amy would rather them be.

“I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding,” Amy said, “Who else are involved with Seto?”

They stepped into the principal’s office right when Ms. Suzuki tried to answer, but was cut short by a man in a tracksuit. “Ah, Ms. Dunn, I believe? Please, sit down,” the man greeted. Amy eyed the man to the nervous-looking Principal sitting behind the desk before looking around the room. Surprisingly, he found a familiar face attending next to a bored Seto.

“Yami?” She called. The teen looked at her, but quickly bowed his head. When Amy glanced questioningly at Seto, the guy returned her gaze with a poker face. _What’s going on?_ She wondered. Yami was not the type to wreck havoc in school and Seto, while very capable of doing so, had enough class to save his ass from getting caught.

At least, most of the time he could save his ass from getting caught.

Amy sat down on the love seat in front of the Principal’s desk. Ms. Suzuki followed her example soon after her. The man, Coach Morty, sat on the opposing couch. The Principal stayed behind his desk with a handkerchief pressed to his balding head, worried.

“Is there any concern regarding my,” Amy paused to send a look toward Seto, who refused to look vulnerable nor sorry, “Protégé?”

“Well, Ms Dunn, I believe we have to wait for Mr. Mutou’s guardian –“

“Mr. Solomon Mutou isn’t able to come,” Ms. Suzuki disrupted, “He’s currently out of the country”.

“I’ll be glad to take his position as Mr. Mutou’s guardian for the moment,” Amy eyed Yami tentatively. The boy looked grateful, but his smile was rather forced. “If you don’t mind, of course,” Amy added as a last thought.

“I don’t think that will work,” Coach Morty said curtly.

“I am well acquainted with the Mutou family”.

Ms. Suzuki sighed, “Coach Morty –“

“Of course, of course,” the man mumbled before taking a deep breath. Meanwhile, The Principal could be seen wiping his forehead with more vigor. “Ms. Dunn, we think you need to be informed regarding the boys’ –“

“Yes”.

“-relationship”.

Amy blinked slowly to Seto’s direction. You couldn’t read his expression as always, but his posture was far too relaxed compared to Yami’s taut one right next to him. “I believe I am well informed regarding that”.

“No, what I mean is that they are quite imvolved,” Coach Morty insisted.

“Yes, of course”.

“Romantically”.

“Absolutely”.

Looking unsatisfied, Coach Morty added, “Sexually”.

This time, Ms. Suzuki moaned horribly, “Oh, Coach Morty!”

Amy blinked slowly and sent him one of her stern gazes; “As I said, I am very much informed regarding the boys’ relationship,” when the whole room seemed too stunned ro reply, Amy added, “Seto has been dating Yami for more than two months”.

“I assume you are very supportive of their affair,” Coach Morty pressed. Amy nodded lightly.

“Oh, yes. Very much”.

There was a dramatic howl of surprise coming from the Principal as the round man could be seen fidgeting behind his desk. The Principal was known to have such a fragile heart. Yet, everyone ignored his personal drama.

“Mr. Morty, if this is about the boys’ gender, I have to remind you, however strange that concept is to you, there is no rules against same-sex relationship in this school nor Japan,” Ms. Suzuki defended.

Coach Morty crossed his arms. “True. I mean, that is strange – to have two boys together like that. And these two doesn’t seem… flamboyant,” the grown man eyed the two students, “I mean Kaiba is…, well, his mom is a foreigner right? And I heard one of his cousins – uncle – whoever he is – married another guy overseas. He might have brought one of those western ideals”

It was a misconception of sexuality, but if that’s the only way this teacher of a small town could accept the idea, then Amy will let him be.

“Now, Mutou…,” Coach Morty sighed and shifted, “This one, I couldn’t grasp. He’s a star student in my class, very good at sport. He has a bit of a foreigner’s blood in him, but he’s from here! He’s a manly man!”

Yami watched his teacher with a shameful look. Coach Morty then said, “But you could say Mutou is a little pretty for a guy”.

Yami shifted and looked down. Seto frowned in thought. “And I get it, homosexuals are usually smart. These two are smart. Smart people are just like that – they think differently,” Mr. Morty continued.

Amy sighed heavily. If this was America, this teacher wouldn’t be able to hold a job as a teacher with this kind of attitude. Imagine how he’d react on the topic of gender. But then again, this is a small town in a rather conservative country. Amy should have been grateful with this reaction. It could be a whole another story otherwise.

Ms. Suzuki didn’t seem satisfied though. She had her arms crossed and her chest puffed. “Mr. Morty! These two are some of our best students. They have the best of manners – never said a word against the teachers! Never!! Today in this room I couldn’t see any other reason for you to punish them beside their sexuality!”

Mr. Morty seemed surprised. “I might be harsh and disciplined, but I wouldn’t punish a student unaccordingly to the rules. These two were doing something I deem highly improper in the school ground”.

“Kissing and holding hands are hardly improper nowadays Mr. Morty. Even you’ve let go the two students who were caught kissing by the locker last week!” Ms. Suzuki shook her head, “And now it’s different with these two?”

Mr. Morty’s face reddened, and Amy wasn’t sure it was the good kind of red. “These two were doing more than just kissing, Ms. Suzuki”.

“I’ve caught them holding hands in the hallways myself. And I let them be. Because that’s harmless!” Ms. Suzuki ignored the male teacher.

“Then how is it harmless when Mutou’s shirt was off in the rooftop??” Mr. Morty had now raised his voice and pointed at Kaiba, “He was sucking on Mutou’s chest like a baby would a mother!! Mutou doesn’t even have a breast for God’s sake!!!”

It might be the sudden outburst or the contents of said outburst; everyone was stunned to silence. Ms. Suzuki, who had been defending the two boys, was now opening and closing her mouth like a fish. She then turned to the two adolescents as though asking; that couldn’t be real, could it?

Yami was now flushed in the face. It was a first for his teachers to see him so speechless even though he usually had the last words to say. Despite the lack of words, his reaction was the most tell-tale sign of the truth in Mr. Morty’s claim. “Oh my,” Ms. Suzuki put a palm on her cheek, “Oh my”.

Seto, on the other hand, looked rather unapologetic as he sighed impatiently and threw a bored sideglance. It was probably the first sign of disrespect ever shown to his teachers.

* * *

  
Come midnight, you’d find Amy in the private library of Kaiba’s manor, right by the large window to their new hydrangea garden with a cup of coffee. To Amy Dunn, every single Kaiba had at least one scandal to their person. Of course she was prepared to handle such situation with care – but the challenge handed by Seto Kaiba was so petty it was starting to get embarrassing.

The Kaiba staff had dealt with Gozaburo and Kisara’s divorce once, then there was Mokuba’s adoption scandal, then Seto’s troublesome relationship with a married woman, and now they gave her this? Dealing with a teenaged couple getting busted for making out in school was far below her caliber. It’s cute – she admitted – but it was such a shame for a Kaiba. And this is the Seto Kaiba – the guy who grew up with scandals – he even created a scandal himself not a year ago!

“Pfft,” Amy snorted, before she explode in laughter. What’s with this small town? What kind of sorcery does it contain that it changes Seto so tremendously? And the school even let Seto’s mistakes go. “Oh, God. They really did,” Amy giggled while shaking her head, “If this was Seto’s previous school, we would be preparing a sum of money for a bribe”.

Seto and Yami were left unpunished; all because those two were model students. Not only that, apparently the student president had named them as possible candidates for the next student president – and knowing how few the candidates were, they’d rather not diminish the chances of having any candidate at all. So they let the two off as long as Amy had a nice talk about proper behaviors in public places and maybe get them to not see each other for a while. _‘Because having two teenager to be that intimate at such a young age is problematic,’_ they said. Born American, Amy couldn’t see the reason behind the idea. Still, she ended up grounding Seto for acting unapologetic and doing whatever he did in school that got him to this situation in the first place. And boy did it feel good to ground a Kaiba.

Amy snickered and sipped from her mug. It was then she saw a shadow behind one if the larger hydrangea bush. She was half convinced they had a lost animal in their backyard, till Yami poked his head out from behind the bush.

Amy blinked stupidly at the boy who was now smiling upward. And whose room was located right on top of the library again? Of course, it’s Seto’s.

And good gracious, Yami had a guitar with him – a guitar with Joseph Wheeler’s name messily written with black marker (really now? What kind of white knight would come to the rescue with a borrowed sword?). The kid should be grateful the huge window Amy stood behind was not see-through, so he could atleast maintain his confidence.

Amy couldn’t hear the tennis ball Yami threw at Seto’s window nor the strum of guitar that came right after (the library is soundproof), but she watched on as Seto’s sweetheart sang his heart out, right in front of her, and how the long line of tied blankets were dropped from the balcony right above her.

How sweet.

“Ms. Dunn”.

Amy didn’t have to look behind to know it was Mr. Tanaka. “What should I do with Mr. Mutou’s bicycle?”

Amy sipped from her mug as they watched Yami climbing the rope made out of blankets. Knowing Yami, he must’ve thought he was some sort of a hero to Seto’s demise. And Amy would be the evil dragon that kept the Princess inside the castle.

“Just put it in the garage,” she told the chauffeur slash bodyguard. The man bowed and left the room. Amy smiled behind her cup as she witnessed Yami struggling to reach Seto’s balcony. “Ah, highschool sweethearts,” Amy smirked. Now how should she bust Romeo and Juliet come morning?

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

 

**Pardon the errors. I missed posting so much.**

 


	15. Seto's Dream

 

* * *

SETO'S DREAM

* * *

 

Since young, Seto had always matured earlier compared to his peers. Sure enough, he grew up alongside many other kids who had 'stock market' and 'interest rate' in their pre-school level vocabulary; but he was one of the very few who was forced to grow up too early due to his parents separation and having the weigh of taking over the family. He stood out with his height and aloof behavior alone – and that led to many awkward encounter with older females who made a pass at him without checking his age. So it was no surprise when he was blessed with the first signs of puberty at twelve.

It didn't happen over a day. He just remembered being mentioned by a couple of schoolmates for having deeper voice and seeming to have grown a couple of inches over the course of summer. He remembered having a hard time to sleep at night as his body started to give him pain thanks to sudden growth spurt. But he never truly recognized this if it wasn't for that Saturday evening where his father brought a woman to his quarters.

It was another random female Gozaburo brought home as his nightly entertainment. Seto didn't like seeing any of them or even talking to one. He was unfortunate to meet face to face with that particular one on his way to the kitchen, where the woman sat by the kitchen island with a glass of water, clad in a thin bathrobe.

Seto recognized the face as another TV regulars. He couldn't comprehend why his Father divorced Mom when it was obvious she bested these lot in attitude, talent, and definitely beauty. The golden brown hair was most likely fake, and more so her bosoms. The way she slurred the croaky hello was not of taste either, consider this was the son of the man she just slept with. She had to flash herself to Seto as she moved her legs – and that was when Seto bolted out of the room.

It didn't register to his mind how that scene had affected his young self until he dreamed of that same woman that night; lying in his bed with that same artificial brown hair, a pair of bouncy breasts that was lacking any covers, and moaning crazily under him in that same annoying croaky voice. Waking up to the mess in his underwear felt more like a nightmare despite the pleasure it gave him just hours before. It was then Seto realized he had experienced it.

A wet dream.

* * *

 

To his very reserved, very much a loner twelve year old self, a wet dream is nothing but a source of confusion and distraction. All it took was a short visit to his family banquet, and his dreams would be filled with a random faced woman wearing one particular dress from that evening and the hairstyle of every woman he talked to the longest.

The women in his dreams were mostly vague if not totally faceless. If there was a single consistent trait among them, it would be that they were always a grown woman; never girls. Thankfully the dreams stopped invading every so often when his first duel disk design got its recognition. He was way more occupied with the project that such desires couldn't bother him. The rare time it did, it was thanks to his endeavors with a couple of curious girls at school. And even then, the female that would visit his dream later on has a body of a grown woman – despite wearing his school uniform.

The only woman he personally knew who had vividly visited his dreams was Saki.

In full honesty, their relationship started with pure hate from Seto. Her appearance presented his Father's attempt at control – the control he thought he escaped ever since his duel disk took form. She, however, wormed her way into his heart. They first started having civil conversations when Seto recognized her flawless work. She was capable at her job; and that is rare. Then came the teasing remarks. It started with her jab at his serious nature, then it strayed to the area of his personal life; most notably of his nonexistent girlfriend.

What's with adult women and their tendency to ask everyone about their love life anyway?

One time, Seto started answering back at her teasings. "Well, there's only one girl I talk to. She's smart, pretty too," and when she's interested to hear more, he would say, "She's technically my employee and has been asking her employer unnecessary questions".

And while his poor attempt at humor made her chuckle anyway; Seto knew it started a relationship he nor she never expected.

At a certain point, their playful remarks turned into a game of flirting. And at what point Saki starred in his dreams, Seto wasn't sure – but it was a vivid dream. He saw her everyday after all; he knew all of her shapes, her voices, how her hair would spread over his pillow if that ever happened, how her legs would bend.

Of course, the first dream made it difficult to see her in the eye without feeling any guilt. What she did instead was pressing on with a couple of flirting here and there. Thus what was supposed to be an innocent flirtation exploded into a night of passion that day they celebrated Seto's 15th birthday.

That passion lasted for quite some time. Their relationship was highly sexual after all. Not that Seto was that knowledgeable about sex at first. Saki was not that innocent. She dropped hints every once in a while about those risky kinks – most of the time through innocent gestures and her supposedly harmless jokes. And Seto, being the intelligent healthy teen he was, would do his research. The rest would unfold in their next five star hotel luxury suit visit – breakfast in bed and all that while they pillow-talk about work. And with that, Seto's wet dream became rarer, but grew crazier.

He still dreamed about Saki even after their foreseen separation. She was, after all, his best confidant. She made Seto feel good about himself. He felt smart, handsome, and so capable when he is next to her. And their thirst had always been Seto's escape from the bitter reality that is his home. She signified his freedom and his haven; she was his place to forget. That picture of her with a man and a child; hers and that man's; did nothing to diminish Seto's desire of her despite the conflict it brought Seto for liking the woman who did a child the same crime Gozaburo did Seto.

He still wanted her.

He would spend his afternoon daydreaming of her in his Domino home bedroom. At night, he would see her in his dream; wearing that lacy lingerie Seto had purchased; laughing in her soft voice while Seto brushed through her dark fringes. The dreams were vivid at first; a complete replay of their nights together. But as time went on, her face grew blurrier. In fact, at one point Seto wasn't sure if the Saki in his dream had the right almond shaped eyes anymore; or if the face smiling up at him was Saki's or of a random Japanese girl he passed by in Domino.

In the days leading to the Tokyo Tournament Kaiba Corp held, he was already pounding another faceless woman in his dreams. The morning after, he struggled to remember the lines of Saki's face with the hope that he would be able to recognize her came the day she saved him from his bleak reality and make him the hero of his own life again.

* * *

 

The next time something new took place in Seto's dream would be sometime after The Tokyo Tournament. That was, after all, where a particular boy first caught the Kaiba Heir's attention.

Seto was not expecting a surprise from life at the time. He was quite jaded by the life he had in Domino at the time. And the first tournament he participated after his move to Domino was also the most overrated event of the year. It was KC's first tournament, yet it was ran by those who work with his Grandmother rather than the employees who worked for the Dueling Disk Seto had designed. They had no clue about Duel Monsters, let alone had the passion for it. That, in Seto's opinion, was the biggest mistake his family ever done.

To give them the benefit of the doubt, they did hold the event to reach out to Seto – or, in his Grandma's words, to cheer him up. Still, Seto hoped they would have done it properly. The tournament earned its international recognition, but it didn't live up to expectation. Especially because this was hosted by the enterprise that had given dueling it's previous glory, it became very underwhelming.

Seto was already imagining leaving the tournament, leaving home, and leaving Tokyo to return to that hellhole Domino once he was seated along with the rest of the semifinalist for a pre-final dinner. At that point, his imminent victory was obvious. None of his worthy competitors were present – except Rafael, probably; but he was known to hold back unless it was necessary to do otherwise. Seto was sure the rest of the week would lack the usual novelty of a competition. It was utter boredom.

But then he heard a laughter. That was the first time he saw that fellow – in his leather attire; with his attention grabber of a hair; with his confident stride into every conversation; and with that dimple-infused smile.

 _Who is that?_ Seto remembered wondering as he eyed the lines of the guy's face. Now don't blame Seto; He rarely sees a guy with those features – such as the huge angled eyes and a light complexion that glowed golden under the light. The contour of the other guy's face was sharp but some features still had that certain softness most Japanese would have. Seto had his eyes on the guy's angled jaw that ended to a small yet pointy chin and further complimented by a small but full lips. The dimples that formed every time he smiled was peculiar, but fitting.

 _What is he?_ Seto pondered further. His appearance was too striking; his laughter even more so. And Seto couldn't take his eyes off because it was obvious the guy was the only other person in the room that might be around Seto's age. The guy had just talked about wanting to win the competition with such boldness that Seto wondered how the duelists around him has yet to ignore the fool. Because there at the long table may not be the duelists Seto deem worth his energy and time, but they were still from the world's best 50.

 _I wonder if he's good_ , Seto wondered. One cannot go with such confidence in front of the world's best without the talent to boot. Of course he wouldn't be as good as Seto, and this tournament could be a good important lesson for him.

Somehow, Seto wondered if he should lend the guy a hand – which was stupid. Seto never cared for a stranger, especially not when he's in a place where everyone is looking at each other as targets. But the guy's laughter and glaring appearance were hard to ignore that Seto felt like the guy is more than he seemed. The way that guy talk didn't make him look like a fool. Instead, he looked like he's going to surprise.

But the guy in leather wouldn't be changing Seto's life just yet.

It started when Rufus, one of the company's top executives (that was known for his loyalty toward Izumi Kaiba rather than Gozaburo), made his opening speech and revealed how they planned to have two volunteering duelist to perform a demonstration on KC's latest dueling arena. A stupid idea, obviously. No one there would be happy to volunteer. It's the night before the real semifinals; everyone would love to keep their tricks under the sleeves.

Rufus must have been desperate to reach a point where he had to draw two random names from a ballot. Seto was ready to stay in a state of disinterest throughout the night and acted like he never witnessed the display of unprofessionalism. The two drawn names turned out to be Bandit Keith and Yami Mutou.

That was the moment Seto discovered _his_ name.

Seto couldn't help but be attentive then – especially when Bandit Keith was called out by Mutou for not dueling seriously – a strategy everyone in the room planned to do if their name were the one being picked to duel that night. Mutou seemed to have the knack for pushing someone's buttons – and he did so with such elegance. He pushed Bandit Keith to a corner so far until the latter couldn't do anything else but duel with his full capabilities.

To everyone's surprise, Bandit Keith, number one in the United States, lost to a complete newbie.

It was one of the best duels Seto had seen in a while – and to think it has to involve that lousy excuse of an American duelist and a newbie. That cockiness was not out of nothing – Yami Mutou was truly one of a kind.

Seto was elated to find a potential worthy opponent – that is, until Mutou defeated Seto in front of thousands spectators. That particular duel was also the first time they ever spoken – making it the worst introduction Seto ever had with anyone (in fact, this one beats meeting his Father many nightly companies).

And if you were thinking being defeated could turn Seto on so bad he turned gay – you're not exactly… correct. Days after that Seto's obsession turned to that of anger and revenge instead. It took him a week of brooding and concocting this master plan to avenge his loss before he could finally think clearly about Yami Mutou. He dreamed of someone around that time; an ambiguous person with caramel complexion and crazy hair. Yet, without a proper face, Seto wouldn't admit to the fact that he is fucking a guy he barely knew in a dream.

It took another meeting with Yami Mutou – then discovered to be a schoolmate and a fellow Domino resident – for Seto to finally… dream.

At the time he did kidnap Mutou and took him somewhere near his private hangar. Once he pulled Mutou's wrist and tried to swing a punch at that face, Seto could not. Because there in Seto's mercy was not the cocky dude who embarrassed him from the other side of the arena. No; this was the guy whose dimpled smile caught Seto's attention on the pre-finals' dinner. And that face was too good to receive a smack on the side – because Seto practiced all kind of martial arts with Tanaka since young and it would be so easy to leave a permanent mark on such a sight. Mutou looked like he exercised regularly, but the way he flinched told Seto he never threw a punch or fought before.

Thus Seto settled with awkwardly scuffling with no actual bite. No one ended up hurt; but the close proximity with Mutou and the chest bumping contributed to how realistic (and accurate) the sweat trickling down the side of Mutou's face looked that night when Seto dreamed of him lying naked on Seto's bed. The size of his slender wrist in Seto's hold was a reenactment of their earlier scuffle and so did the way those amethyst eyes looked up at Seto. Come morning, Seto could no longer deny dreaming of plowing a certain duelist into his bed.

It took another visit from Yami to his dream for Seto to finally accept he wasn't confusing Yami's gender. Once he touched the internet on the issue of anal sex, he found another world altogether. Thus was his introduction to gay sex and the many possibilities it offered – which later on proved to make his dreams with a Yami look-alike more adventurous.

Was it easy to dream of someone who stick around so closely? No. But Seto was willing to take it slow for Yami. Maybe he has had enough of another Saki - who took things fast and keep it as intense as possible; or maybe Seto wanted to explore other forms of romancing that Yami seemed to offer.

And for his desires, let the dream-Yami be his company for the night. For his real-life boyfriend, Seto was willing to wait. It was fun for guiding him to explore for now. Sometimes though, Seto wondered if he should remind Yami that he could be anything but the calm and patient boyfriend he knew if Yami didn't stop rattling the bars.

* * *

 

The bed was creaking rather violently that night in Seto's dream. Yami was in their school uniform – not that it was recognizable in its unbuttoned form. This particular night Yami's complexion looked deeper than it normally does; because honestly Seto had always thought Yami would look sexier if only he stayed under the sun longer. Yami wasn't as vocal though; but his raspy breath rang so clear in Seto's ears as though he was breathing under a microphone.

Doggy style was a favorite when Yami starred in Seto's dreams, and the prior was performing tremendously in that position tonight too. Seto had been trying to imprint his thumb into the so called back dimples – at one time he was even able to sunk his whole hands into Yami's lower back. Thus was the irrational nature of a dream. But then dream Yami shoved his elbow back to Seto's ribs; which never happened before, and especially not with that annoying growl of, "Stop it, it's fucking hot," from Yami.

So Seto pushed dream Yami down and turned them both on their sides; his chest to Yami's back.

This dream felt unnaturally realistic. Normally, there would be that unsatisfactory touch in a dream. For example, a kiss wouldn't feel like a real kiss because the other person was not really there. In a wet dream, Seto's dick was not getting close to anyone else's genitals either. However, this time he could feel the weight of Yami's arm and the bouncy after-impact of slamming your hips together. He could even smell that unique scent Yami usually have after gym or after shower; the scent that smelled of soap mixed with a tangy musk. When Seto kissed dream-Yami's neck, the latter gave that slight shiver Seto recognize as Yami's habit after a heavy make out session. Seeing this, Seto snuggled dream Yami tighter because this one reminded him so strongly of his real-life boyfriend that he missed every second they weren't in each other's line of vision.

And that was when dream-Yami turned his head around; exposing himself to actually be Coach Morty.

Seto jolted in his sleep. Once he came to, he found himself in his bed with a sufferable erection and an uncomfortable Yami grunting in his hold. Seto frowned at Yami's shoulder, which had been his pillow for a while it seemed, and concluded that not only had he spooned Yami in his dream, he was also spooning Yami in real time.

The sleeping boy was facing away from Seto despite being the clingy sleeper most of the time. Then he moved his arm in a rather innocent fashion before pushing it back toward Seto in what seemed was a threatening action. "Ouch!" Seto hurriedly let go of said boyfriend, "Fuck. I never complained when you cuddled up to me!"

Yami answered with a soft snore. Seto rolled his eyes and looked down to his lap. What to do with that erection. He had Yami right by his side – sleeping, sure; but who told him to sneak into Seto's room after being caught redhanded of inappropriate sexual act at school?

And after climbing up to Seto's room, he actually told Seto they both need to slow down – then decided it was a good idea to spend the night and cuddle.

The fuck.

Surely there was something wrong with this boy's mind, Seto figured. Or maybe Yami was just being a virgin - a painful innocent virgin. Yami's weird like that. One time Seto caught him humping on Seto's legs in his sleep, only to run to the bathroom right after. That was rather rude, in Seto's opinion. Shouldn't he have asked for Seto's help instead?

Now, Seto was the one with a problem. Unlike Yami, he wasn't stupid. So he's going to ask Yami for a hand whether Yami like it or not.

The brunet took ahold of Yami's upper arm and turned him around. He was so ready to just kiss the boy senseless. What he saw instead was a pair of huge cartoon eyes winking back at him. Seto actually gasped.

"What -!" Seto hissed at the eye mask, with the cartoon eyes design on it, covering Yami's eyes. He roughly took it off of Yami's face. "Darned Gardner girl!" He grouched. She was the only explanation why that silly eye mask was with Yami anyway.

Yami looked oblivious to Seto's problems. Now that Seto thought about it, he had never really watch Yami sleep. That time they spent the night together, they were too focused on the tournament to even talk before bed. But after taking a good look at Yami's sleeping face, Seto felt… nervous.

"Damn it!" He even had Yami's hips straddled. Blame Yami for going to the bathroom that one time he had a not-so-innocent dream about Seto. Now, Seto felt obliged to hit the shower too.

"You're lucky I like you, idiot," Seto hit Yami's head with a pillow as he climbed down the bed and went to his bathroom. Yami simply shifted in his sleep, scowling.

* * *

 

"Your bag?"

"Check".

"The guitar?"

"Check".

"Alright, be careful on your way back," Seto stopped midway on the staircase to have a good look at Yami. Yami turned to him.

"Yeah," Yami smiled sleepily. It was 3.30 am. They had to sneak Yami out before either Amy or Tanaka was up and about. "I have everything with me. You take care without me 'kay?" Yami gave Seto's left cheek a quick peck. The latter was being grounded for the first time after all.

Seto rolled his eyes, but quickly turned to his check-list mode again. "You sure you'll make it on your own outside? What about your bike?"

"S'fine. This part of the neighborhood is extremely safe. My bike will still be waiting for me outside," Yami gave Seto's arm a soft pat. Seto dismissed the affectionate gesture instead.

"I forgot to bring my jacket. You should take it with you," said Seto before climbing back up to his room. Yami blinked stupidly.

"You don't hav – I don't need it! Geez," the tricolor haired teen sighed at Seto's back and climbed down the steps on his own. He lingered by the foyer to wait for his boyfriend. The teen looked around the now dark interior of Kaiba's household. It was rather scary at night. Next to him in the hallway leading to the front door was the frenchdoor to the kitchen. The usually well-lit kitchen was now dark too.

Wait.

There sitting by the kitchen island was a dark figure – and that figure was looking right back at Yami. Yami gasped.

"Going anywhere?"

Yami actually yelped. It was Amy!

"I d-didn't – We don't -!" The normally confident teen stuttered, head shaking and hands lifted up to explain himself further. However, no further explanation was needed. It was obvious what he was doing there all the time.

A soft curse could be heard from the stairwell and they all knew Seto should join this lonely party of two downstairs.

"You, young man! Get down here and stand next to this outsider right now!" Amy called out the hiding teen.

Seto appeared seconds later with a Gucci hoodie under his armpit and a glare directed at Amy. Unlike Yami, who looked guilty and nervous, Seto looked like the prime example of a rebelling entitled teen.

"Really?" Amy started, "I trusted you two to keep you distance for three days, and this is what you do not a day later?"

You could hear the muttered "Over-dramatic" by Seto and caught Yami's flinch after hearing Seto's remark. Amy slammed her hand on the kitchen island – an act their cook would definitely complain about later.

"Do not think that talking back would make you more of a man in this scenario, Seto!"

"You are the one treating us like children! What the fuck are you doing? Going with their narrative that the two of us are such fiends simply for going at it in school!" Seto protested; arms folded and chin lifted high; "We weren't even doing anything! I was only kissing him a little!"

Amy shook her head at the proclamation. "You don't have the right to protest after consenting to your punishment and violating it!" She turned to Yami. If there was anything – anyone – that could affect Seto, it would be this teen. "And you!" Amy started. She noted how Seto whirled to Yami urgently; "I trusted you to keep him in line! You knew how much he needed someone to keep himself straight".

"DO NOT speak to him like that!" Seto growled menacingly. He pulled Yami away from Amy; and with a softer tone, he said to the prior, "You don't have to listen to her".

"Yami, Seto had never has a proper discipline in his life. You know I care for him as much; _you_ care for him. So I ask of you –"

"Shut up, woman! Don't act like you care when you don't even bat an eye on Mokuba's drinking and smoking habit!"

"Seto!" Yami was the one to scold him now, and Amy couldn't stop smiling on how Seto's eyes widened at his boyfriend. "Do not speak to her that way. She is only taking care of you".

"Did you hear yourself? She lives out of my paycheck".

"From your grandmother, actually. Need I remind you of my place in this household? I could make your disposition worse if need be," Amy sounded rather calm, but she wasn't. It was at that moment Yami jumped to his boyfriend's rescue.

"No! Amy, please. We're sorry – he's sorry," the teen bowed in a very Japanese fashion. He quickly shushed Seto when the latter made a protesting sound and returned to Amy with an urgent apologetic look, "And I am sorry too. I – this is also my fault, so please don't put all the burden on Seto. I wasn't thinking straight".

"What the fuck," was Seto's only outburst while he was digging hole through his boyfriend's skull. The confusion and rage were evident in the taller youth's face – yet the affection was still as clear as day. Amy wasn't sure if she should laugh this corny scene off or if she should keep this discipline charade. Because honestly, she couldn't care less about Seto's private life. He's a Kaiba – they weren't the most straight-laced fellow in uptown Tokyo. But this; this was rom-com material – and Amy wasn't a fan, but there's a first in everything, right?

"Do not be rude to her. She's a woman your senior, be respectful," was Yami's stern but soft reminder to his boyfriend. Seto looked bewildered.

"This woman slammed me to the ground just five days ago on a fucking casual practice – and you expect me to be respectful? Next thing you knew she threw you singlehandedly out of the door too".

"Seto! Shut it. You should apologize!"

Being a Kaiba, Seto inherited that unmoving stare – the one that made him look expressionless and frowning most of the time. But the one who knows knew of the conflicting emotions in his eyes when he stared down his shorter lover. "You're asking for the impossible," was Seto's curt reply to Yami. His hand was still clenching Yami's in a protective stature. Both were trying to pull the other away from the imminent threat, actually (the threat being Amy).

"Am I allowed to have my say here?" Amy cut through their not-so-private conversation, "I think you forgot that he," Amy pointed at Seto, "is still grounded for three days and you," she turned her head to Yami, "are here in this house despite the fact. This will cost you some repercussions".

"I know," Yami said silently, "I am on my way out".

"No. I cannot let a child out at this hour unsupervised. You stay the night here until morning and I expect you to be out before breakfast. And you," Amy returned to Seto, "From this point on, I'll keep him out of your room. And I wont allow him inside Mokuba's room either". Said room was actually an empty room upstairs right across from Seto's. While it was free to use currently, everyone knew Seto would sneak inside to get to Yami.

"I'm sorry, Yami, but you should spend the rest of the night on the couch," Amy announced casually. Yami nodded, but Seto looked horrified. Amy didn't mean to torment Yami. Yami seemed like the kid who had spent the night on a couch with his friends over a movie marathon. Not to mention, that couch in the living room could cost more than anyone in Domino's yearly salary. Mr. Tanaka often sleeps there and not a complaint from him after. However, to the entitled and spoiled Kaiba heir, that sounded like the most inhumane treatment anyone could get.

"Are you insane?" Seto exclaimed.

"Seto, stop it! Be grateful she doesn't prolong your punishment," Yami half-whispered.

"And not a visit from you!" Amy added to Seto, "I'll be watching the stairs. I'll know if any of you try to cross it". None of the boys dared to protest there after – maybe because she sounded like she means it, or maybe Seto's previous remarks about her judo prowess scared them.

Whatever, she figured. They both knew her room was between Seto's and the stairs; so she'd be on her eyes and ears.

It wasn't even ten minutes after she left Yami in the living room did she hear someone walking down the stairs. They couldn't be that stupid to go against her right after she called them on their misbehavior; those two were too prideful for that. Amy opened her door just slightly to peek outside. And true enough, she could see Seto going down the stairs with two pillows and a duvet tucked under his arms.

The assistant waited there. She wanted to know what those two were up to. If Seto planned to sleep with Yami, then she'd rather caught them red handed. It was then that she heard Seto going back upstairs not long after staying downstairs. When she looked outside, he no longer had the blanket and pillow.

Ah, so he was giving Yami extra pillows and blanket, even though Amy had provided them beforehand.

"You can call my name anytime you need me," was Seto's words as he looked down from on top of the stairs.

"Yeah…"

"Or if you're cold or it's too warm, know I'll be upstairs".

"I know".

"Okay".

"Take care then".

"You too"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Seto?"

"Yes?"

"...Sweet dreams".

"You too".

Amy kept herself hidden behind the door as Seto passed her room. Once she heard the soft click of Seto's bedroom door, she snuck outside and stole a glimpse at Yami downstairs. There, Yami could be seen hugging a pillow – which suspiciously looked like the pillow in Seto's room. Seeing the extra pillows and blanket, Amy smiled secretly to herself. It might be the time to expose a little secret to Izumi Kaiba; her grandson has learned to genuinely care for somebody.

* * *

 

**TBC**

* * *

**Hello all! I've been focusing on an old work of mine in another fandom (Katekyo Hitman Reborn) and planning to continue my study. So I'd be a bit distracted - but if you're into the KHR fandom, strange humor, mystery-ish fic, and into cute stuff, please check my work titled Her Cat. It's a twisted fic (that everyone seemed to call cute... like this Point of Two) about a boy that everyone mistook as a cat with an espionage like background plot.**

**Also, I think I have to point out that Point of Two is a pun on Point of View (Have I ever mentioned that?). I think bringing out different povs is my thing because there is no one truth - there are only perspectives. And each perspectives add up to one another to form a bigger picture.**

**At this point you'll also notice a dynamic in Seto's personality. Note that he is... depressed - a gimmick in teen lit, I know. What do you think is going on in his character? I put a lot of his background in this story; have you guys figured it out or does this only make sense to me? (I'm a psychology major - I read personalities through drawings, I read too much into a story, but I tend to be too cryptic. Sorry :( )**

 


	16. Miss President's Observation

MISS PRESIDENT'S OBSERVATION

* * *

"I've met a girl," The Vice President, nicknamed VP for short, said shyly as everyone became his loyal listeners. He had just returned from a short exchange program to China and had somewhat became a one-minute celebrity in this small Student Council meeting. He was your everyday nerd-ish guy who'd fix his glasses every couple of minutes while talking non-stop about the importance of following the school rules and all that. Except now he no longer have those pair of thick glasses. He wore lenses. He had a new backpack. AND he met a girl.

The VP blushed, "Her name's Mei Ling. I miss her already".

A soft gush of 'd'aww' filled the room. If you squint harder, you'd find Seto Kaiba among that fifteen people crowd; a bit hunched to the wall with a bored if not disinterested look latched on his handsome face. Then again, it may not be that difficult to find him. With a towering figure and that uniquely race-ambiguous visual, it's hard not to turn your head twice to get another look at him. You don't often see a regular Japanese with such chiseled jaw, straight-lined nose, and a light complexion walking across the street. And everyone wondered how this ridiculously handsome young man only has a quarter foreign blood in him – or at least that's what the female (and male) population of Domino High had been saying behind him. All of them; except for The Student Body President of said school.

Because for her, the wonder that is Seto Kaiba was interesting in his behavior and not in his looks.

It's easy to miss; with Seto Kaiba having the facial muscles that rarely move and his whole presence being so out of this world that it was hard to figure him out; but The President believed that Seto Kaiba was genuinely lost by what this meeting had to offer. He had been trying to single himself out of this humble Student Council meeting by paying more attention to his KC tablet. But sometimes he would pause and sent a judging look toward his peers, who had been humming 'Ooh's and 'Aah's at VP's little story about his one-month stay in China. It wasn't the bad kind of judging either. If Ms. President was honest, she would say he seemed half curious, half confused by the novelty that is teenager's interaction. He shrugged a bit, most likely to himself, before fetching his mobile from his designer brand backpack and completely muting his surrounding once again. Obviously, Seto Kaiba does not understand how student council meetings work; and it was rather endearing.

In the other hand, the VP had finished telling every story about him and a Chinese chick named Mei Ling. After handing everyone bags of Chinese sweets, he then addressed the ever silent teen who has been under Ms. President's radar of observation.

"Who are you?" The VP asked.

"Who?" Ms. President was the one to perk up at The VP's sudden question. She then followed his line of vision to see whom he's looking at. "Oh, him?"

If there's anyone who'd ask a Kaiba to address their selves; it would be The VP indeed. He couldn't even get the internet to save him from the ignorance. He merely used that stuff for studying.

"I'm Seto Kaiba," the brown haired teen himself answered politely, "I'll be in your care".

"Umm…," Ms. President turned to The VP to save the latter from the dishonor that is not knowing a Kaiba – the Kaiba heir in fact! The VP nodded coolly instead.

"No need to be formal. Everyone here calls me VP".

Dan, their treasurer, facepalmed visibly somewhere in their little circle and Ms. President heard the familiar squeak of her secretary. The guy actually thought he was being cool!

"I've never seen you before. Are you new?" The VP continued. You've never seen anyone addressing Seto Kaiba so casually before.

"Yes".

"Cool," The VP replied. Everyone wondered what China had done to make him say the C word – not that it's the bad kind of C-word, but everyone would admit it is such an abomination when it comes from the VP's mouth. The guy continued, "Where did you come from?"

"Tokyo".

"Hmm. It's been a while since we've seen a new face around here, right Ms. President?" The VP nodded with more vigor than needed, "About that, I thought this was supposed to be a member only meeting".

"It is," she answered. "Kaiba here," Ms. President emphasized the name in hope of getting The VP to see the line between that name, the KC tablet and mobile on the guy's lap (that seemed to have yet to be seen by the public) and the brown haired teen sitting across from them. But the way The VP was looking, it's obvious that her attempt failed. "Proposed a new plan for our budget and our sponsorship".

"Oh wow," The VP was surprised before addressing the brown haired teen again, "So what do you have in mind?"

"Actually," the guy in question looked at The President, "I have a short presentation ready for the plan. If you don't mind, of course. We haven't exactly started the meeting".

"Oh, eveyone wont mind. Our meeting has always been light-hearted and flexible, right?" The VP turned to her. The President sighed.

"Sure. You can start, Kaiba," she said in defeat. The Secretary secretly squeezed The President's skirt in warning.

Kaiba actually prepared a brochure like handouts for everyone to get his message across. Not only that, he also put an analysis, a graph, and point by point explanations to his idea. But the most interesting thing was the idea printed on the handout seemed much more simple than what he told everyone the first tine he presented the idea despite it being the same plan. Maybe it's the presentation, or maybe the word choices; point is, the plan seemed possible and easier to do now.

Kaiba did a short explanation to his handout before ending it with; "Any questions?"

Everyone was so absorbed into their brochure that no one raise their hand. But a guy finally did a short moment later.

"Yeah, so I heard about this plan the first time you lay it out to all of us. Back then, I really didn't get it. I literally don't get a single word you say. But now, you prepared a printed presentation and everything, it has a cool design y'know; I finally get it! Like I can see how you want this to work and all – and don't get me wrong. I appreciate what you do man but, like, it sounds too good to be true, y'know? It seems easy on paper, but I know this is the same sophisticated stuff you said back then and we're all new on all this. Like," the guys sighed, "Thing is, I don't know if we can do it. This is all so different to what we're used to!"

Seto Kaiba looked calm; yet his demeanor was intimidating enough that the first responder actually stuttered a couple of time. The brown haired teen had a fist in front of his mouth as he processed the comment. "So you're saying despite it being doable on paper, you're affected by my previous claims enough that you perceive it as difficult," Kaiba replied.

"Well…, if you word it that way, kind of. But that's not the point –"

"It's a matter of semantics".

"Uhh…no, I mean –"

"What he's saying is," a girl disrupted to assist the guy, "You might think it's easy, but it's different for us. We're not you, Kaiba; we've never done this kind of PR work before. We don't know what is ahead of us and how to face it. It's just different". The girl paused a moment, but quickly added, "I think it would be better if we tweaked the model a bit to fit our previous model so that the changes arent too drastic".

"This plan doesn't require that many changes. If you think otherwise, you should have prepared the new 'tweaked' design to counter mine. Just a reminder, you'll return to the previous model because mine already requires minimum effort," was Kaiba's reply. He didn't sound angry – in fact he sounded neutral. But everyone seemed to take it harshly.

The atmosphere became a bit tense afterward. Ms. President smiled. It is time to step in.

"Okay, we've gathered some inputs on the issue. Anything else?" She eyed everyone one by one; "VP, how about you?"

The VP was reading his handout quite seriously when he suddenly said; "This is amazing! How did someone came up with this idea? We rarely get this kind of original thought!"

Kaiba nodded, "It's a common PR function".

The VP was still amazed, "I wouldn't have noticed! Oh, you have to see Yami! Have you met Yami? Yami Mutou?"

Everyone froze. That was the last thing you wanted to say in front of Kaiba.

"Crazy hair? Bad boy appearances? But he's a nice kid, I promise you," The VP continued; completely ignoring the repeated squeaks of 'Ohmigod' coming from The Secretary.

"He's very opinionated and very forward just like you. He came up with many new ideas as well. I think the two of you will get along great. The two of you can absolutely change the Student Council, isnt that right Ms. President?" The VP smiled widely as though he had said something brilliant.

Ms. President looked between the bewildered face of her treasurer to the ever hopeful VP. "Y-yeah –"

"Where is Yami anyway?" One of the girls in the meeting chimed, "Didn't you say he's got the snacks?"

"Oh, he has some chores to finish," Dan answered quickly. For a moment there they truly believed they would be far away from ever confronting another Yami-Kaiba collision. That is until Yami himself appeared in the room with an unamused look. Dan, The Secretary, and Ms. President actually shared a bewildered look. "Yami!?" Dan exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"Joining the meeting?" The guy answered with a questioning look. Because obviously, he should have been there. "With the snacks too," Yami dropped four huge bags of snacks and drinks, "And why did you ask me to visit three different stores to buy the same brand of chips?"

Dan stuttered, "They all have... different tastes I heard".

Yami frowned at the answer but proceeded to share the snacks and drinks. "Sorry I'm late. Dan suddenly texted me to buy more… stuff," Yami grumbled to everyone as he dragged his feet to an empty spot by the VP.

"Sweets?" The VP offered a bag of Chinese candies to Yami. Yami replied by showing the bag of snacks he just carried. "Sure. We can switch".

The secretary was reeling with anxiousness by Ms. President; squeaking a silent 'Ohmigosh' in repeat as The VP proceeded to re-explain Kaiba's plan to Yami. Meanwhile, Ms. President gave another look toward Dan - a look that said,  _'How could this happen?'._ They had all tried to get Yami as far away as possible from Kaiba. They had all seen the exchanges between Yami and Kaiba around this topic. It didn't go well.

Yet the next word Yami said was; "Cool, I see you've put some work to make it easier to understand". The tricolor haired teen nodded at the handout in his hand, "We can share this with everyone in the team".

"Wait. You mean… now you're agreeing with the plan?" the guy who previously commented at Kaiba's plan asked.

Yami took a moment before answering, "Yes".

"Wow. What's with the change of mind?"

Yami glanced sideways before turning toward the guy, "I never said I disagree to it".

That was a surprise to everyone.

"I was just saying that if we want to do this, it has to be done correctly. This council is a learning platform for all, so it isn't about making profit or a business. Mistakes are to be expected and we should humanize every business aspect of our activities. What I'm saying is…," Yami sighed, "It's a matter of delivery. Semantics, if you got me".

Dan and Ms. President exchange looks. It was strange to hear Yami using the same choice of words with Kaiba.

"None of us ever talk to these huge company's people though. What if we make a mistake?" Another person questioned.

"Duhh, that's the point. We are representing a 'small school'," Yami emphasized the word with finger signs, "We want them to see our mistakes".

Everyone was looking at each other as though taking everything in. It was unknown if the confusion came from Kaiba's program or understanding the fact that Yami was supporting Kaiba's plan.

"Let's make a timeline to make this less confusing. In the mean time we should focus on revising the proposals," Yami started. Someone in the group prepared a simple whiteboard and wrote 'TIMELINE' using a bright red marker.

"The templates are ready and I've prepared a couple of examples we could use from other Councils," Kaiba added.

Yami paused to give the other a look. "Great. Dan and The Secretary will have to take a look and make a fitting revision. When will be the best deadline?"

"Uhh," Dan blinked dumbly, "Two weeks?"

"Too long," Kaiba added. Yami glared, but said, "How about one?"

Dan gave a look to The Secretary. "One week is okay I guess," The Secretary said.

"Alright, and then we need the PR team ready; who's in charge?"

"I am in charge!" A second year rose his hand.

"Okay. We need a team ready to be briefed in a week – actually, wait," Yami paused thoughtfully, "I think a special team should reach out to sponsors first. Who should go?"

"I'll go," Kaiba said, "and I think someone who understands the proposal and someone from PR should go".

Yami actually smiled to Kaiba. "Okay then; Dan?"

"Alright alright, I'll go," Dan said in defeat.

"I'm currently holding a double role, so I'll hand the task to my staff," the guy in charge of PR said, "I think Tea should go".

If anyone ever looked, they'd notice how Kaiba rolled his eyes when that name was mentioned. "Tea's a good speaker," Yami nodded, "I think this team should be the trial team. So everyone should relax. We'll let three of our best to reach out first. They'll give us the green light when it's time". Everything suddenly went on so smoothly. By the time Yami smiled to The President; the latter know everything was already settled. "Well, Ms. President?"

Who answered instead was the VP. "This is brilliant!" He exclaimed in that geek-ish excitement, "You two can actually make a leading duo for our council! Can't you see it Ms. President? Yami's the president and Kaiba could be the vice!" He smiled to himself; proud.

Dan was sighing dramatically, "Oh, VP! We cant make Kaiba the vice to Yami!"

"Why not? No?" VP turned to Yami; who was also holding back a snicker after hearing VP's silly little comment. The VP frowned to Yami, "You're more experienced with our council, no? So of course you'd be the leader".

"Not interested. I don't mind replacing Dan for the next leadership though," was Yami's comment as he finally laughed. Everyone protested. It would be a waste of potential for Yami to be The Treasurer.

"'Sides! You cant make Kaiba the Vice! He is Seto Kaiba," someone from the circle chipped in.

"What? What'd he do?" VP questioned dumbly left and right. Beside him, Yami was smiling in that snarky and knowing fashion. Of course he figured right away that The VP is rather… clueless.

"He's Kaiba," Yami started.

"Uh-huh," the following _and?_  Wasn't said, but heard by everyone.

Yami continued calmly, "He's the heir to the Kaiba Enterprise".

"W-wha -," The VP paused abruptly. He's now unbespectacled eyes went wide and his head made a robotic turn. A finger then made its message known by pointing toward the brown haired teen sitting not far ahead, "H-he's -!"

Seto Kaiba could be seen crossing his arms with a rather dismissive stare. The rest of them, however, was quite baffled by The VP's lack of knowledge.

"Yes," was Yami's short answer – to the VP's horror.

And the meeting continued following a humorous note. To Dan, The Secretary, and Ms. President, however, the whole scenario followed a rather unexpected turn.

* * *

Fast forward to the pre-festival camping night that took place two weeks later, everyone ended up being blown by how successful Kaiba's plan went. Dan, who was known to question the plan before, had now became its number one supporter and announced its success on their nightly briefing. "I swear I am now a family friend to the Kaiba heir, girl," Dan said ever so flamboyantly once everyone returned to their quarters and posts; "Except I can't see that between Tea and Kaiba. No ma'am, things are awkward with those two".

"What? What's going on?" The secretary whispered lowly in curiosity, "Oh my Gosh, is it because of Yami? He must've heard she and Yami are dating".

"But they've been working together alongside you two on the proposals right? I assumed that means whatever happened had been settled between Yami and Kaiba," Ms. President said.

"No girl! I mean, their interactions were so business-like girl; it's like how you'd imagine businessmen would speak to each other, you know what I mean?" Dan replied with a dramatic hand-wave, "And I swear sometimes Yami took the long way just to challenge Kaiba, right? I mean, you have to see those two working together girl - it's how you'd imagine two mafia men planning a murder in movies! It's beyond us, girl - but sometimes they argued. And when they argue," Dan gave a loud sigh, "They  _argue"._

"True! They could debate for hours for one tiny detail. Like, come on!" The Secretary added, "But beside that, they were great partners. Could you imagine them leading the Council? It would be great!"

"And then Ms. Yami over there want to be the next treasurer girl, honey. BYE," Dan uttered.

The President and The Secretary burst out laughing. "A complete waste of potential. I mean he should have known by now that the treasurer has always been a gay guy," Ms. President snorted, "Like, for the last couple of decades years it always follows that tradition".

"See Dan? You're bound to this position the day you were born," the secretary slapped the plump guy's arm.

"My womanhood defines my everything girl," Dan did a hair flip, "But honestly girl, I'm not sure if they were friends, enemies or... maybe frenemies? I don't know. No one knows! I hope the proposal stuff helped their relationship - but even I'm in doubt".

Ms. President shrugged. The three of them had actually caught the two boys being dragged by Coach Morty to the Principal's office the week before their core members meeting. And when you see someone being taken to the Principal's office by Coach Morty, it would only mean two things; you were either caught smoking, or caught fighting. Despite the fact that it seemed unlikely for those two to fight, there would also be no other reason for Coach Morty to bring them to The Principal. Coach Morty was known for his radar for rule-breakers; from smoking students to fighting students; he caught them all. Yami had been caught in an almost fight by the teacher before; but back then, between him and the other student (Bakura), everyone knew who's really the victim and the perpetrator.

Yet between  _The_  Seto Kaiba and Yami; You wouldn't know for sure who started the fight.

It was strange how no one seemed to know about it nor were the two involved party seemed to be punished. Dan had believed that The Kaiba's might be bribing the school to let their heir off unpunished. Whatever happened after that, Ms. President was sure of one thing; this occurrence indicated a problem way beyond casual disagreements between the two boys. She regretted having left the issue between the two brewed for so long inside The Student Council. Maybe if she stepped in earlier, they could have avoided this from happening. It would be bad for The Student Council to have their members fighting close to the Festival. This could contribute negatively to the members morale and the whole organization's reputation.

"Maybe we should stop worrying instead, girl," Dan said suddenly, "Let boys be boys! At this point we are merely running on assumptions. I could say those two are gay for one another and that might still be possible honey - who knows?"

The Secretary rolled her eyes. Ms. President smiled, "Yeah right. Dream your gay fantasy, Dan".

They passed by a couple of students who slept in front of classrooms for guarding duty and went into their Council's office, where most of the Council's core members will sleep. Yami could be seen sitting cross-legged on the corner alongside a couple of other core members; probably discussing tomorrows camping activities. It was after all a camp for the festival's committee; it would involve a lot of team building activities.

The VP welcomed them by the door. "Hey, midnight food has arrived! I've also assigned the guard duty to the second years".

"Thank you!" Ms. President took the guard duty list for the night among the classrooms they used as sleeping quarters for campers; "... you assigned Tea with Kaiba?"

"Yeah! I mean, they're close right?" The VP eyed Dan, "They've been on that PR thing together. I mean, who else would you assign Seto Kaiba with?"

"I'll check on them," Ms. President said hurriedly, "I still have to patrol the hallways anyway".

The Secretary grabbed her by the arm, "Wait, do you need a company?"

"Uhh," it was then The President caught Yami's little brother passing by their office, "Ah, the little brother! You come with me?"

"What?" His already wide eyes went even wider, "O-okay I guess. I was going to see Tea for a while, is that okay?"

"Perfect! See? I've got myself a partner".

The VP was the first to be judgmental though, "Hey, aren't you only a first year? You should be in one of the sleeping quarters by now!"

"U-umm, I went with Yami to get your food, so I thought I'd buy some drinks for my friends on guard duty," Yugi showed them the plastic bag in his hold.

"It's fine. Let's go!" Ms. President took the younger by the hand and dragged him away before any protest could be heard, "Bye guys!"

* * *

Tea and Kaiba looked... okay. They didn't fight at least.

But Tea was acting differently once Yugi started talking to her. She was tilting her head more often and was even speaking with a different voice. Ms. President was sure she was pitching her voice higher as though she was trying to act... cute. ' _But they are friends,'_ Ms. President thought as she observed Tea taking a bottle of milk tea. The cheer captain tucked her hair behind her ears. "Thanks," she said - and she was smiling rather... flirtatiously to the younger boy. It was disconcerting that she did all this while wearing Yami's gym jacket.

 _'But then again the name on that jacket,'_ Ms. President eyes the jacket Tea's wearing and the white printed 'MUTOU Y.' on the left chest.  _'It could also stand for,'_ she then eyed the boy in front of Tea,  _'Mutou Yugi'._ Meanwhile, the last time she saw Yami and Tea together, it was of Tea jokingly calling Yami her _girlfriend._

"Oh yeah, here," Yugi took another drink from the bag and handed it to Seto; who had been sitting silently next to Tea with his headset on. He was looking rather frowny when he took off the earset to say, "Hmm?"

"A drink," Yugi offered nervously - almost apologetically, "Me and Yami bought it".

"Then why not tell him to do the delivery himself?" Kaiba grumbled before putting his earset back on. He sounded pissed off.

Yugi shifted on his feet. "Alright. I'm going to... put this over here then," the boy landed the can next to Tea and in easy reach for Kaiba, "Uhh..., I'll tell him you've received the drink. It's coffee, as usual".

The exchange was painful to watch. Even Tea tried her best to smile and lighten the atmosphere; but she was obviously uncomfortable. "SO umm," Yugi turned toward The President, "Ms. President?"

"Oh yeah! Don't mind me, I'm here for patrol duty. How's everything? Do you need food, drinks?" She tried her best to act the most positive - as if the scowling guy who was more interested in his phone was never there.

"We're fine," Tea was the one to answer.

"Just a reminder that if anything happen you can just ring us upstairs, scream, or call anyone. If you're too tired or bored or anything, we could find a replacement for you," She was offering them a way out of this weird guard duty assignment.

"Noted," Tea replied with an ok sign. The President nodded, "Okay. We're done here".

"Okay," Yugi nodded hurriedly, but then turned unsurely toward Tea, "I'll be going now".

"Good night Yugi," Tea said, and to Ms. President's horror, with baby voice. She reached out to the boy, and the younger Mutou answered it by holding her fingers.

"Take care," was his last words as he and the President left the two on guard duty to class 2-1. He kept Tea's hand in his until they could no longer keep up with the growing distance. In the long silence of their way back to Yugi's assigned quarter, Ms. President repeated the scene over and over again in her head. A lot of things unfolded in front of her eyes that night; yet she couldn't put everything together. At least; not yet.

* * *

The alarm rang at 2.30 am. Ms. President groggily woke up in the heap of sleeping students inside the Council's office. "VP, wake up. It's patrol time," she shook the guy who slept next to her.

"Hrmm, no need," was VP's sleepy grumble.

"Come on!" Ms. President yawned as she kept on shaking VP's body.

"Yami's already patroling," VP murmured as he turned away from The President. The latter blinked dumbly.

"What do you mean he's patroling?"

VP yawned, but took a moment to finally open his eyes and look at the other, "He woke me up moments ago. Said he'll patroll for us," another yawn, "Go back to sleep".

"Y'sure you're not dreaming?" Yami's nice, but not that nice.

"Yeah. He made sure to wake me twice and everything," VP curled to his side, "Whatever. I'm going back to sleep".

Ms. President sat upright in her sleeping bag. Something was bothering her tired mind. She absently stared at the empty cans of drinks in the middle of a desk. One of them being that canned coffee Yami likes so much. Honestly, he's the only one who'd drink that while they were having meetings.

But wait. Didnt she see someone else drinking that? Oh yeah, Kaiba drank that too in their budget meetings. And last night Yugi even brought him that same brand of canned coffee.

Ms. President smiled stupidly to herself for figuring that out.

Wait.

Wait a minute.

It was then she was reminded again by how pissed Kaiba looked when Yugi gave him the drink; saying Yami was the one who bought it. What if...

"I'm going to patrol!" She said in a hurry to her side, where the VP seemed to be too deep in sleep to notice. Ms. President stood and put on her sneakers. In her haze, she actually stepped on The VP on her way out.

Running by a number of students on their guard duty, Ms. President noted that not all of them are awake. Thankfully the two people on guard duty in front of class 2-1 were.

However, instead of finding Tea and Kaiba, you'd find Tea and Yugi there instead; hands joined, Tea'a head on Yugi's shoulder, eyes wide.

"I knew it!" Ms. President exclaimed as she pointed her flashlight at the two. Yugi looked like he was trying to come up with an excuse; but Ms. President wasn't having any of it. "Where are they!?" she asked instead. She didnt want anyone from her Council to fight, and especially not while on a Council-related activity. Tea and Yugi guiltily pointed to the right; specifically to the double door leading to the other wing of the school.

"He must've taken the school key from the Council office. Darn!" Ms. President followed the lead; running as she entered the unlocked double door.

She could hear voices a distance ahead. Turning off her flashlight, she now followed suit slowly, almost tiptoeing as she saw the sillhouettes of two people by one of the locked rooms. She hid behind a small locker and took a peek. For sure that was Kaiba and Yami. The latter was unlocking one of the classrooms; probably using the keys the council borrowed from the school. Once he opened the door, he stood by it as though waiting for the taller to enter first. Kaiba entered then; but not without a moment of hesitation. Yami went after him.

Ms. President silently approached the room and crouched under the window so they wouldnt catch her. The two had turned on the light it seemed, and their voices reached Ms. President easily. Ms. President scooted toward the door in hope of taking a look inside. When she did so without being noticed, she recognized that this was the music room.

"Sit wherever you like," was what Yami said as he unzipped his jacket. Kaiba had his arms crossed as he went to one of the desk at the front and leaned his back to it so he could face Yami by the piano. Yami stood absently while facing away from the door and Kaiba. His shoulders lifted a bit before it sagged dramatically.

"So how's your night?" Yami said finally; obviously addressing Kaiba. Although it was hard to distinguish his expressions, Ms. President was sure Kaiba is scowling. Maybe the lifted chin and the belittling stance told Ms. President so. Yami somehow acted sorry too.

Maybe Yami started the fight when they were caught by Coach Morty and was trying to make it up to Kaiba. That would explain his change of attitude toward Kaiba. Still, it felt wrong to think of Yami as the type to ever lay his hands on someone.

Kaiba has yet to answer; and he seemed comfortable with keeping his silence. "I was worried you wouldn't be able to stand the small bench they let you sleep in for the night. I mean, you've never even slept on the couch," Yami added. It was obvious he was rambling away from what he actually wanted to say. Even from where she was, Ms. President knew Yami was nervous - which was new when it comes to that normally confident teen.

Yami opened his mouth as though planning to say more. This time though, Kaiba beat him to it.

"So now you're ready to talk?" The brunet said flatly.

"Set," Yami sighed heavily, "... this whole thing between us is progressing too fast and it confuses me".

"If you're coming to me to deliver an emotional outburst, then I want nothng of it," Kaiba added, "I dont want any part in your emotional roller coaster. Come at me after you're done with your stupid episode".

Yami looked even guiltier, "Set, I'm new to this. After that thing with The Coach and Amy, I feel... guilty for doing all that with you".

"So I'm the one who deserves the cold shoulder? Way to go, Mutou; you couldnt even settle on a better conclusion," Kaiba took a pack of cigarette and a lighter from the side pocket of his sweater. If Ms. President wasn't being sneaky right now, she would have jumped into the room and took the cigarette from his grasp.

"Set, I'm not here to fight," Yami crossed his arms and turned away - a manner that signaled his effort to hold his anger back. Kaiba said nothing to appease the other, but his eagle-like stare was pointed to Yami's back as though he was prepared to catch Yami if the latter ever bolt out if the room.

Ms. President made sure that she stayed hidden. There was something behind this conversation; a meaning she couldn't grasp. But if she dared to guess, she would say this conversation felt... intimate. Yet she wasn't ready to accept that conclusion. The fact that Yami called Kaiba 'Set' alone was already so baffling to her.

"You're the one asking for a fight. You're an idiot to think I would appreciate hearing your doubts about this," Kaiba played with his pack of cigarette before slipping one in between with such ease that Ms. President believed he had done this million times before. "About us," Kaiba added.

Yami snapped his head toward the other in a flash the same time Ms. President's eyes grew bigger. _What the heck is going on?_ She thought.

"Set, no... I didn't mean that. I didn't mean to doubt what we have," he turned slowly to face Kaiba again, "And I didnt mean to be cold to you either".

Kaiba said nothing, nor did he return Yami's gaze. Instead, he was lazily playing with his lighter - as though the simple act of flicking a bic lighter on had became so much more complicated. Yami took a moment to watch Kaiba messing with the small object, before he slowly approached Seto. He stopped right in the space between Kaiba's two feet.

Ms. President watched as Yami cupped the lighter with his two hands and took it from Kaiba. "Stop it," the warning was said with such gentleness that the silent observer between the three became numb as the discovery dawned on her. The two boys were head to head as Yami pinched the cigarette hanging from Kaiba's lips and pulled it out. Yami out the two banned objects on this school ground onto the desk. "We don't need this," he said.

"I don't know," Kaiba's murmur had lowered, but filled with such somberness, "The thought of you makes me want to smoke nowadays".

Yami leaned forward until his head sank into the other's sweater. "I'm sorry, Blue Eyes. It's my fault. I was so occupied with my own problem that I've forgotten you somehow," Yami snuggled closer - and Kaiba somehow allowed him. "I'm sorry," was the shorter's final apology.

Kaiba looked coolly intrigued, but said nothing. His silence was enough to make Yami pull away to get another look of the other. "Are you still mad?"

A snort could be heard, "It takes you long enough".

"Well, Amy's words really got into me!"

"Stop. Not another word of that. You either want to be with me or you dont. I dont want to play any of this game," Kaiba uttered curtly. Ms. President saw Yami looping an arm around the other's head so that their foreheads touched. The confirmation Ms. President needed was handed to her just then; with the two boys kissing in the middle of the music room.

"You didn't drink the coffee I bought you," was Yami's comment after the brief kiss. Kaiba didn't answer, but Yami seemed to take that as an affirmation. "That pisses me off somehow," the shorter growled.

"That makes us even then," Ms. President could hear the smirk in Kaiba's words.

"Ugh, fuck you!" Was the last growl - Yami's - Ms. President heard before she silently escaped the place. She was half running by the time she went pass the double door leading to the other wing, only slowing when she saw Tea and Yami's younger brother. Yugi had a hand on Tea's ear - in a gesture to tuck a hair behind her ear. The two froze as they noticed the newcomer - and they definitely looked nervous.

"Shut it. I get it. I get everything," Ms. President said hurriedly with her arms raised in surrender. She did her patrol duty in a daze - not even caring that most of them in guard duty were sleeping. Once she returned to he sleeping bag inside the Council's office, she turned her sleeping VP and said, "You wouldnt believe what I just saw. We were wrong. They weren't caught fighting".

Because among the many crimes Coach Morty ever caught on this school ground, very few of them happened to be a misdemeanor from a dating couple. It's rare, but it has happened before. "I think Dan actually has a successor in the Council".

As a response, VP turned in his sleep and murmured a soft, "Mei Ling..."

Ms. President scowled. VP was deep asleep.

"You know what," Ms. President turned to face the ceiling, "It's none of your business". She then turned away from the VP to face her sleeping secretary, "It's none of my business either".

* * *

VP had no idea what he had done, but Ms. President didn't seem to be in the mood to do the morning wakeup call. She even pointedly made sure he knew it was his job to do it for her. "Okay okay," he agreed as he walked through the heap of sleeping bodies inside the Council's office. Some students were already awake; making ramen or simply tapping their smartphones. The VP saw Yami sitting crosslegged on the floor by the entrance with a blank look and a cup of coffee in hand.

"Hey, Yami. Wanna do the wakeup call with me? It can be fun," he greeted.

Yami's eyes went up to him and the latter saw the dark circle under it. "Oh wow, not enough sleep last night? Must be some rough patrol duty then! Must be the third years! Those people are the most difficult to handle".

Yami took longer to reply. When he did, he said a silent 'yea' after sipping his coffee.

"Ah, no matter! You could get your revenge by coming with me! Who knows, you could make them suffer by making their morning alarm as loud as possible - what do you say?"

Yami blinked twice before shaking his head. It was a no.

"Oh well. Your loss then," The VP said. He did ask Yami a second time before leaving the council. But the other teen seemed so out of it that the VP doubted it would be helpful to take him along.

It was fun waking up the students and hearing their protests afterwards. Too bad everyone in the same quarter as Wheeler were already awake (including Wheeler himself); if they hadn't, The VP planned to make a special call for that blond rascal. The last classroom he should check was Class 2-1; the class where he assigned Kaiba and Gardner. Ms. President had been worrying about these two - but really, they're highschoolers; what could go wrong?

"See?" VP said as he stood facing Tea and Kaiba. The two were asleep on the sitting bench in front of the classroom; Tea making Kaiba's shoulder her pillow as the latter had his arms crossed and his head leaned back to the wall in what seemed an uncomfortable position. VP was just planning to wake the two, but stopped midway as he noticed a tiny strange detail.

_Why do both Kaiba and Tea have the same exact initials on their school track jackets?_

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**If you havent figured it out, the initial on their jackets is MUTOU Y.**

 


	17. A Best Friend's Worry

Tristan had a problem.

Yugi and Tea were too busy cheering for Joey at the claw machine and Tristan was left alone with his phone to watch their table. Everyone’s phones; which they trusted to him; buzzed at the same time just moments ago – yet Tristan seemed to be the only one to bear the burden of reading the message.

Because Yami had posted in their group chat that he’s ‘taking Kaiba along’.

So maybe Yami had known Kaiba a bit from his duel tournaments, but he should have also known it was a bad idea to invite Kaiba when he and Joey didn’t share the best first impression on one another. In fact, shouldn’t it generally be a bad idea to invite someone as boujee as Seto Kaiba to a fast food joint? Tristan hoped he knew this place doesn’t serve gold laced caviar.

“Guuuys?” The poor guy called after his friends from their messy table by the window – a call that didn’t reach as Tea squealed all over and Joey’s angry scream at the poor machine overlay any other sound.

“Crap. This is awkward,” Tristan mumbled to himself as he dejectedly reread Yami’s message, "Joey’s mood has been awful too". The blond wasn’t even able to finish his cheese burger – which was saying something.

Tristan stared at the text for a full minute without knowing what to do. Before he knows it, Yami had entered the building. Behind him was that tall eye-catching figure of Seto Kaiba.

Tristan was floored for a second there – because those two could really attract attention together. Both had the same elegant stride – although Yami’s fierce and Kaiba’s cool; and they both were nice to the eyes. These were the type of people you’d like to stare at in public.

The staff somehow came out of their hiding spot and gathered behind the cash register. Even the manager came out. It seemed that the presence of Seto Kaiba has summoned such dedication from the them. According to the familiar howl of laughter behind him, the rest of the gang hadn’t realized their guests’ arrival. Thus Tristan was left to ravel upon this sight on his own. Yami and Kaiba were making their order; shoulder to shoulder; sometimes playfully pushing one another.

Tristan’s brows met. Especially when Kaiba landed a playful punch to Yami’s cheek, to which Yami laughed. “What the..,” Tristan murmured absently, shoulders sagging.

The two teenagers then walked side by side to the table. Kaiba carried the tray, Yami held the drinks. They were far too busy talking among their selves that Tristan worried they hadn’t locate their table. In the midst of that, Yami actually picked one of the sweet potato fries and fed it to Kaiba.

Tristan felt so awkward witnessing that. He forced his eyes down and feigned texting.

“.. I told you the fries here isn’t that far off from Nagumo’s,” that was Yami as he put the drinks on the table. Tristan looked up to see Kaiba taking the seat right across from him, Yami settled on the seat next to it. The two then proceeded to divide their food; Seto seemed to be having their smoked beef specialty, while Yami had the bbq one. A large serving of sweet potato fries was laid between them, to be shared, as two huge cups of iced tea stood on its side. “They’re still trying to conquer the claws I see,” was Yami’s first words toward Tristan; obviously addressing the rest of the crew’s effort on the burger joint’s only piece of entertainment.

“Uhh…, yeah,” Tristan still had his eyes glued on the two. Kaiba was actually making himself comfortable – dressed in a plain V-neck (that must’ve been more expensive than the price of their foods combined) and a goddamn Rolex – as he settled his burger in his grip. It was strange how this creature could land himself on their humble table while touching elbows with someone who dressed as colorful as Yami. The latter was looking like a rebel – hair tied up messily and silver accessories piling up on his slender arms and neck.

The two unconventional combo ignored all social rules and ate side-by-side, making small talks while pointing around using their sweet potato fries.

“Those kind of machines are usually rigged,” was Kaiba’s comment, “I wonder why people even try. Waste of money”.

Yami turned to the brunet slightly. “Really? I like to think that winning anything is very much possible,” He took a bite of a fry and smiled, “You’d be surprised how good I am. Tell you what, I’ll win you the grand prize on the claw machine at the local arcade”.

There was a weird smug look on Yami’s face that was borderline too much. For the life of him, Tristan had never seen Yami smile like that despite having spent more time with him than Kaiba. Not that Tristan wanted Yami to. But such an expression implied a certain amount of closeness – of intimacy. This discovery made Tristan shift in slight discomfort.

To Tristan’s surprise, Kaiba actually returned Yami’s gaze and smirked coyly too. “They’ve got you in their corporate clutch. I’m telling you, you’re conned”.

“I saw a Blue Eyes White Dragon plushie in there earlier this week,” Yami shrugged, “You have a pro handing you an offer. Do you know how lucky you are?”

Tristan watched as Kaiba”s blue eyes squinted, but twinkled at the offer. His smirk grew in mock doubt – in a way you didn’t expect a Kaiba would. After a moment of gazing at one another, Kaiba actually said, “I suppose I’m so blessed. I’ll be counting on you, Mr. Mutou”. The two returned to their foods with a secret smile. Tristan was sure there was a hidden message behind that exchange – but what?

“Joey’s a lost cause,” Yami expressed suddenly, “Aibou is another story. That guy’s a claw machine junkie – an expert”.

True enough, you could see how Joey tried to kick the machine out of anger – thankfully he was prohibited from doing so by Yugi and Tea. Yugi then took over. As Yami had stated, it didn’t take long before the trio’s frustrated grumble turned to that of an excited cheer. It seemed that younger Mutou won another prize from the claw machine on his first try – as usual.

Tristan was expecting the worse out of the three once they saw the new face sitting at their table. Surprisingly though, Tea seemed cool with it.

“Kaiba! I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said before plopping on the seat on the other side of the Kaiba heir. “I thought you didn’t like eating out”.

Kaiba acted rather dismissively at first, but said, “A change of pace is alright”.

“Yami convinced you huh?” Yugi sat next to Tea with a milkshake in hand. Kaiba hummed absently – a bit cockily if Tristan might add. Yugi and Tea took the attitude in a stride. But then again these two seemed to see something Tristan didn’t. Something about Yami and Kaiba was puzzling, and puzzles were not Tristan’s forte.

That’s another problem though. The real problem would be Joey. He wouldn’t be taking Kaiba’s presence so lightly.

The seat next to Tristan stayed empty for a tad longer. Tristan turned to his left to see Joey silently standing behind it; grimly. He was staring straight at Kaiba, who returned the look coolly. Meanwhile Yami, Tea and Yugi were sharing a joke as though nothing went wrong.

“Uhhh Joey, dude,” Tristan tried to calm him down. Joey let out a tired sigh then took the seat. The blond crossed his arms, an overbearing pink plushie being smothered by his two triceps. It was quite uncharacteristic of him to not make a scene. So Tristan asked, “Man, you okay?”

“Pssh, shaddup,” Was Joey’s grouchy answer. The episode went by unnoticed, thankfully. Except by Kaiba, maybe, who responded by raising an eyebrow.

A waitress approached their table then with a serving of ‘Spicy Fried Eggplant’. Everyone were sending accusatory looks all around the table until Yami announced, “It’s mine”.

“Eww, what is that,” even Tea has had enough of Yami’s quirks.

“No, I swear eggplants fried in batter taste good. You should try,” Yami defended.

“No!”

Yami shrugged and took a round cut of crispy eggplant. He looked surprised after the first bite. “This is good! Hey, you should try!”

Yami took another piece and reached out across the table. The funny thing was, Tristan swore Kaiba thought it was directed at him, but instead Yami’s hand went pass two people to reach Yugi. And of course that was to be expected; everyone in the gang knew of Yami’s strange brother complex. The guy even saved half of the money he won from dueling for Yugi’s college fund.

Yugi, who was really the sane one between the Mutou brothers, flinch in embarrassment but took the piece of offering using his mouth out of habit. “Oh wow! That’s better than I thought!” The younger said.

Yet Tristan’s attention zeroed in to Kaiba, who was then sending a long look to Yugi before shifting his eyes to Yami. The blue orbs widened slightly in realization – and that moment seemed like such a horror to him.

Tristan coughed awkwardly and leaned a little to Joey to whisper, “Dude, don’t you think Kaiba –“

“HOW MANY TIMES SHOULD I TELL YA?” Joey exploded; plushie thrown to the floor and feet rushing to keep himself upright; “DO.NOT.TALK.TO.ME”.

The guy briskly left the table and went straight to the exit. Tristan blinked dumbly. He never knew hearing Kaiba’s name could inflict such a strong reaction from Joey. The fast food manager poked her head from behind the kitchen door, turning left and right as she tried to detect the source of noisiness, yet seen nothing but the only group of visitors looking baffled themselves.

* * *

  
_“Hello?”_

“Tea, is Yugi there?”

_“Um no, he’s on a meeting with the festival creative team. What’s up? I can maybe deliver your message to him upstairs”._

“Shoot. I need to borrow the kitchen to bake Miss Press’ order of cookies and I forgot to tell him”.

_“They asked you again? Seriously, what did you put in those cookies to get them this obsessed?”_

“Dunno man. You know how those kids in the Council go when you can’t meet their expectations. Crap, now what am I supposed to do? Gramps out of town too”.

_“Yami’s home though”._

“He is?” Usually Yami was the one stuck with school meetings on Sunday, “Sweet! I swear I can’t do anything without The Mutou’s and their kitchen. Alright, thanks Tea –“

_“Hey, hey, wait! I forgot to tell you Kaiba’s also there!”_

Tristan stopped whatever he’s doing and groaned to the phone, “Ugggh, why didn’t you tell me from the start?”

 _“Well, it shouldn’t be that huge of a deal right?”_ You could hear the doubt even in her own conviction.

“I dunno. Have you seen him? He’s just so different to the rest of us and it’s just weird talking to him”.

_“You didn’t seem to mind when Mokuba came around to hang out”._

“No. No, that’s,” He paused to relive the moments he spend with the kid; laughing, joking, playing games; mostly normal stuff. And then there was the not-so-normal stuff, where the younger Kaiba would sometime ask anyone in the room to get him out of his shoes or rub his shoulders, or complain when the TV wouldn’t answer to his voice (which the TV he owns at home does all the time, of course). That one time he left his Louis Vuitton x Supreme cap at The Mutou’s and said they could have it was memorable too. But Tristan would never feel weird around the younger Kaiba. He pursed his lips and continued his words, “That’s different. I don’t know, something about Kaiba just doesn’t sit well with me”. By that, he was really talking about the older Kaiba.

“And you can’t say differently about yourself too, Tea! Weren’t you the who cling to me that day you were supposed to meet Kaiba at his house?”

 _“You cant blame me! Anyone would be intimidated by that house!”_ They were talking about a meeting she, the Secretary and Dan attended at Kaiba’s home. Tea dragged Tristan to take her there, out of nerve; and even asked him to come inside with her because Dan and The Secretary hadn’t arrived. _“To be real, that house is amazing. Have I told you he has a foreign assistant? And the food! Oh, the food!! Best food ever!! I wonder why he bothered going out to eat with us!”_

“Tea, girl, stay with me. What am I supposed to do now that Kaiba’s with Yami?”

_“If you’re really uncomfortable with the idea, you can just bake tonight. Yugi will be there before dinner”._

“Yeah, but,” Tristan grunted, “I’m already here”. The door to the Mutou home was only a couple of steps away.

_“Oh... I mean you can all maybe hang out together”._

“Are you serious?” Have she even seen those two together?

_“Kaiba’s… not that bad. He’s pretty chill once you get to know him and most of the time he preferred his own company”._

_Not when Yami’s around_ , Tristan thought. “What kind of brainwashing program did they give you in those meetings at The Kaiba’s?” Tristan half-joked. Tea gave a strained laughter.

 _“No, really T. Don’t overthink it”_. The moment was disrupted by a muffled conversation in the background of Tea’s line. “Whoops, gotta go. I still have another business to attend!”

Tristan sighed, “Kay. Thanks a lot Tea”.

 _“Hey, don’t mention it,”_ a momentary pause as Tea talked to someone else, then she said, _“Bye Tristan. Catch ya later!”_

The sound of the line ending became the start of something else for Tristan. He remembered that day she took Tea to Kaiba’s house and how the two of them stared at the huge building for a full minute. The Mutou’s home may not be as big in this case; but it has the same menacing air now that Tristan found out Kaiba was inside – with Yami.

The shop was closed, so there was no other way to go inside by the side door. Tristan put his phone in the side pocket of his jacket, held the grocery bag he’s been carrying tighter, and pressed the doorbell.

It was at that moment he noticed how out of place that action alone made him feel. He realized, out of himself, Joey, and Tea, the latter was the only one who bothered pressing the bell. Even then, either Yami or Yugi would usually have opened the door before she was able to signal her arrival. Joey and himself wouldn’t even bother trying.  
So why did he press that button now of all day?

“Jeez, this makes me feel stupid,” he told himself. Without further ado, he opened the door and walked inside. “Yami?” He called with less volume and enthusiasm than usual. Silence answered him instead – and Tristan was rather thankful of having that instead of… having something (or someone) else at the door.

He was struggling with taking off his shoes without letting go of his groceries when he lost his balance and hit the line of coats on the coat rack. It was then he had himself swallowing the expensive smell of some piece of clothing. The teen regained his footing, but was not able to resist the temptation to check which piece of clothing felt that soft and smelt so nice.

It was a jacket… a Givenchy jacket.

“CRAP!” He whirled away from the innocent jacket and added more speed to taking off his shoes. He made sure to not pay much attention to that pair of white sneakers that stranded messily to the door when Tristan accidentally kicked it in the midst of his clumsiness – because goddamnit, Tristan wouldn’t forgive himself if those were a pair of Yeezy.

A series of footstep could be heard once Tristan went to the living room. There, in the middle of the stairway, stood Seto Kaiba. And Tristan stared at the familiar shirt – not because it was another luxury brand he knew; instead, this shirt was far more familiar than that.

It was Yami’s shirt.

Kaiba was wearing it with such ease and such messy bed hair that Tristan wondered if the universe had turned upside down. Because between the two of them; Tristan was normally the one who wore one of The Mutou Brothers’ shirt while sleepily walking inside the house like it was his own.

Kaiba tilted his head and scrunched his eyebrows as he carefully inspected Tristan. He said nothing; but his posture was questioning.

“I umm…,” Tristan coughed awkwardly, “I’m borrowing the kitchen”. Why was he the one acting like the stranger now? This was his second home!

Kaiba scratched the back of his head and yawned. “Yeah. The kitchen’s over here,” he said before walking down the stairs. He led the way to the kitchen, ignoring the fact that Tristan had been there so many times thus not needing to be shown the way.

Tristan quickly got to work once he was in the kitchen – more because he wanted to avoid looking at the other teen than having to rush. He ignored the half eaten donut on the counter even though he would have eaten it if it was another day; even if it’s Joey’s, Tea’s or Gramp’s. Because now there was another person to consider and Tristan would rather not eat his half-eaten donut.

“So… where’s Yami?” Tristan started a conversation to reduce the tension. Kaiba didn’t answer instantly as he leaned to the kitchen island.

“Napping”.

Tristan coughed awkwardly at the short answer and busied himself with measuring the ingredients. Kaiba made his way to the pantry and took a cup. A familiar black cup. Tristan reached out to interfere.

“What do you wanna do?” He questioned. Kaiba looked back at him judgingly.

“Drinking”.

“You should use another cup”.

Kaiba looked between the cup and Tristan.

“You cant use that one. Because that…,” Tristan added, “That’s Yugi’s. And no one else uses it”.

A stupid rule, you can say, but it was a rule everyone followed in this house. Kaiba should too.

“It’s a cup. He could have any other cup in this house,” Kaiba stated curtly.

“Yami wouldn’t have allowed you”.

It happened; the pair of blue eyes went directly to Tristan. It was such a nerve wrecking experience to be stared down by a Kaiba, even when said Kaiba was barely moving. It seemed that Tristan had pulled such an offensive move by bringing Yami into this, yet it was an effective one nonetheless.

Casually, Seto took the cup with him to the fridge. He took a carton of apple juice from the fridge, poured it to the cup, and returned the juice to its original place. With a nudge at the fridge’s door, he leaned to the kitchen appliance and took a sip from the aforementioned cup.

A lazy tilt of an eyebrow was directed rather challengingly at Tristan as he clucked his tongue at the tangy aftertaste. “We’ll see,” the Kaiba heir muttered coolly.

Yami did appear a moment later. “Trist!” He called, “Sorry man, I didn’t know you were here”. The spiky haired teen approached the kitchen island. Surely by now he would notice the cup in Kaiba’s hand. And it could be awkward for Kaiba after this; The Mutou’s were quite possessive of their stuff.

Yet when Yami turned to face Kaiba, in which the latter intentionally took another sip, the shorter pointed casually at the cup and said, “Yugi’s cup,” before turning to Tristan to talk about baking.

Tristan blinked in surprise at the tall form behind Yami and saw the satisfied look on Kaiba’s face. Honestly, it was the first time someone survives unscathed while using the Mutou’s property without permission. The Mutou’s might be kind and generous; but they’re very persistent of their ownership on certain items.

Kaiba walked away then. And as he walked victoriously by Yami’s back, Tristan saw the small bruise on the side of his neck. It didn’t take a genius to reckon what that bruise is exactly. Tristan somehow knew who caused it too.

Maybe…, Tristan was the one being obtrusive toward a Mutou’s property then.

* * *

  
“So you were stuck with those two huh?” Yugi asked apologetically, “I guess… you were met with a surprise?”

Tristan had his arms crossed, “That’s a complete understatement”. It’s a wonder how Tristan managed to bake batches of cookies and delivered it to the council by noon. Maybe because he was so desperate to escape the awkwardness that is Yami and Kaiba lounging on the couch. Yami was giggling too.

THAT Yami. Giggling.

“Tell me the truth. What kind of relationship does those two have?” Tristan threw the question.

Yugi shifted in his feet. He was scratching his chin too; a habit he did when nervous. “They’re dating,” Yugi answered, a hesitant smile followed briefly.

Tristan’s eyelids were closed as he took in the damned reality. “Ugggh, I was kinda hoping it wasn’t that,” he groaned, then rubbed his temple tiredly, “But of course it’s that. It’s so obvious – that fucking Yami”.

Yugi laughed awkwardly, another nervous habit he had. The guy then pursed his lips, “So… is it bad? Is it because it’s Kaiba?” A pause, “… or is it Kaiba’s gender?”

“No, it’s not that. I -,” he stopped to lower his voice. The school’s hallway was packed even though it’s the weekend. The students were busy for the upcoming festival. “I kinda knew of Yami…, y’know, his uhh… preference”.

“Oh… Oh! You do??”

Tristan looked left and right to make sure no one listened to them. Yami was a household name here in Domino High. Talking about him in the hallway was rather risky. “Yeah,” he glanced at Yugi and saw the curiosity shining through, “I caught him with… another guy at the local ramen shop. Nothing serious of course. It was about a year ago and from the way Yami talked to him, I kinda noticed”.

“I see,” Yugi looked at his own feet, “Do I know the guy?”

Tristan diverted his eyes, “Maybe. I’m sure you’ve heard of him, but I don’t think you knew him. This all happened a year ago,” back then Yugi was much more shy and reclusive than how he is nowadays, “But yeah, I don’t think he ever gotten serious with that guy. The guy moved away,” Tristan paused, “Yami cried to me about it”.

Yugi huffed, “I guess. There’s no way he would ever cry to me, right?”

“Of course! You’re the precious little brother. He would want to hide his weakness from you,” Tristan forced a laugh, “He never told me outright, but I figured he liked that guy”.

They shared a momentary pause to contemplate the issue. “He told me a little about it. Right about a year ago, he told me he liked someone… a guy. Didn’t know he cried for the guy though. I didn’t even know the guy moved away”. Yugi crossed his arms, “So now that the guy's gender not in the way, what’s the problem?”

Tristan scratched the back of his head in frustration. “Dunno man. It’s just weird,” he replied gruffly.

“Is it because he’s dating Kaiba?”

“Uh, no. Not really”.

Thinking about it, Tristan knew Kaiba isnt a bad guy. In fact most guys are fairly decent. But he and Joey had been treating the guy like shit for some reason. Not that Kaiba was affected, of course.

It simply sucks to have this new guy coming into their life by taking most of Yami’s time. The next thing they knew, Yami was the next big thing in the dueling community and a lot of people Tristan barely knew were also hanging out with him. And now they suddenly had no idea what Yami was up to or whom he’s with every time he went to a tournament.  
Yami was suddenly walking far ahead, and Tristan felt like they werent taken along in that journey.

It’s not like it’s Kaiba’s fault, Tristan understood that much. However, Kaiba’s a part of this new life Yami had, and he and Joey felt like the Kaiba heir deserved an attitude because of that.

Tristan wondered, “Hey, have they uhh… you know…”

“What?”

“I think… they both have been in Yami’s room”.

“Oh…,” then out of nowhere, Yugi flushed, “Oh! Oh, you mean _that._ Uhh I don’t know – I mean, Yami said he’s convinced Kaiba is very experienced in dating and stuff, so he uh, he might want to. But as far as I know Yami isn’t very sure about the whole thing. Yami told me he’s going to maintain a healthy distance between them, but I think they’ve gotten closer instead after the camp”.

Tristan reminisced the moment he saw the kiss mark on Kaiba’s neck. “I don’t know man. Something told me whatever distance they have between them couldn’t be thicker than dust”. Tristan tried laughing, but it felt bitter. Just as he thought, Yami was moving along with his life.

“Tristan, it’s really none of our business,” Yugi took a deep breath, “Honestly I think it’s time for Yami to be a little more selfish. So I’m grateful for what he has in his life now”.

“What? How come?”

“Yami hasn’t been able to move on ever since mom disappeared. Especially after Gramps declared her dead. Between the three of us, Yami held on to the hope that she’s alive the most,” Yugi looked down again, “I think he took it to himself to be more dependable because of that. Taking in more responsibilities, busying himself in club activities. Deep down, I believe Yami wants to feel useful so that he's able to cope with the lost”.

Tristan silently agreed. It was obvious that Yami’s tendency to take over and protected those he cared for smothered Yugi the most. No wonder the younger Mutou barely survived the social calamity that is middle school.

“He took the news harshly after he found out about me and Tea,” Yugi sighed, “It’s difficult for him to comprehend that we’re able to move on without him. I know it’s harsh, but he’s really the only one still grieving”.

Tristan took the news to heart. Everyone in the gang had an inkling of what was going on inside Yami’s head. The guy was still struggling with his mother’s death; and he’s pulling his act together to maintain a tougher front to as compensation. And maybe that was why there was such a gap between the charismatic persona Yami had in school and the melancholic sap he became in rarer times in the privacy of his home.

“Is this a good thing, Yugi? Is Yami dating a guy we don’t know a good thing?”

Yugi chuckled, “No one in Japan could say they don’t know Seto Kaiba, couldn’t they? But I get it. I mean, according to Yami he’s a brilliant guy”.

Tristan rolled his eyes. Yugi continued, “But as long as the guy likes him back and makes Yami feel useful in return, shouldn’t that be good enough?”

“You’re fine with it?”

Yugi shrugged, “I’m happy as long as he’s happy. Isnt that what being a family's all about?"

Tristan pursed his lips. He supposed, that was the point.

* * *

  
It was Monday. Somehow Tristan found himself next to Joey in the same burger joint they visited last week. Tea sat on Joey’s other side; texting as usual. And Tristan was left with a long faced Joey.

Uncomfortable, Tristan shifted in his seat and fiddled with the straw of his milkshake.

It was then Joey let out a long sigh and muttered lowly. “I know about the relationship”.

Tristan turned his head to his blond buddy. “What?”

Joey had his arms crossed and his sight straight to the exit. “I know all about it,” the murmur was curt. He wasn’t happy about the discovery.

“How did you found out?” Tristan questioned slowly.

Joey clucked his tongue and looked away. “I just did,” a hiss, “Look, it took me a while ta accept it, a’right? So don’ bring it up ta me”.

“Oh wow,” Tristan was amazed how considerate Joey was about the whole Yami-Kaiba thing. He knew how much Joey despised Kaiba. “I’m sorry, man”.

“I get’cha, I get’cha,” Joey closed his eyea and bent his head down, “I mean, people can love anyone they love. I have no say on other people’s biz. And look on the brighter side,” he lifted his head and took another deep breath, “At least ‘tis not second comin’ of Bakura or whatever they call it”.

It was a stupid rumor that had been going around in school that Bakura was coming back to class – even though it’s obvious he had graduated.

“Right!” Tristan smiled and put a hand on Joey’s shoulder, “Glad to see you comin’ back to life buddy!”

For a lingering second there, Tristan swore he saw Joey frowning at him; but the blond returned the smile in the end. “Yea,” the blond answered. Tea was sending glances from behind her mobile before smiling secretly to herself. It seemed like whatever problem the gang was having with accepting Yami’s relationship with Kaiba, it was settled on its own.

Tristan had no worries when the aforementioned couple stepped into the fast food restaurant. Both were still in their high school uniform, lightly bickering, with their briefcase tucked under one arm. Yami pointed at the ordering table and took a narrow turn to the left. The two teenage boys could be seen ordering two cups of iced coffee. They walked to Tristan’s table side by side, still conversing among themselves at first, then stopped once they arrived.

“Have you guys been waiting?” Yami started lightly as he dropped his drinks to the table. He took the seat facing the three original occupants and Kaiba took the seat next to it gracefully. “Sorry we’re late even though we’re the one calling you here,” Yami smiled nervously as he eyed between Kaiba and his drinks. He then rubbed his hands on his own pants while pursing his lips. Meanwhile, Kaiba had his shoulders squared and took a business-like posture. He eyed his three guests calmly; hands joined on top of their table like he owned the place.

Joey, Tea and Tristan, who were watching these two casually, wondered if this was more serious than it seemed.

“Yugi and I, we…,” Yami sent another brief look at Kaiba, “had a conversation last night. And from that conversation, I reckoned there’s a couple of things we need to address… to you guys”.

There was a rude ‘Hn’ from Joey and a whispered ‘Joey!’ from Tea, then another silence as Yami seemed to struggle with words.

“I somehow had it in my head that the three of you have figured it out on your own. However, without communication, you’d rick misinformation and other sorts of misunderstanding,” Yami was somewhat rambling. Tristan was already yawning.

“Yugi convinced me to inform this to you guys officially,” Yami and Kaiba were exchanging looks for the numerous time, both were telling the other to ‘say it’. Meanwhile, Tristan was too immersed on watching how their elbows bumped on one another. Honestly, they shouldn’t bother saying anything ‘officially’ when they’ve been acting this obvious from time to time.

The two lovers were nodding slightly at one another as though coming to a firm agreement. Yami was the first to face them yet again. Carefully, rigidly, he landed his hand on top of Kaiba’s joined hands and said,

“We’re dating”.

“Too late,” was Tea’s instant answer, “We already knew”.

“Yeah, but we both want to make this official announcement just in case,” Yami turned to Kaiba again; and this time, the two shared a grateful smile.

“For real, Yami, you really messed up the timing of announcing us,” Tristan complained lightly. Yami chuckled.

“I know, sorry”.

Joey suddenly threw himself upward. “WHAT!?”

Everyone in the table were silenced by the display. “Joey, dude –“

“I NEVER HEARD ANY OF THIS!!” The blond exclaimed, “WHAT IS THIS?? I CANNOT ACCEPT!”

“Did he…,” Kaiba finally said something, “Did he just speak like a proper person right now?”

“Uhhh…,” Tristan was equally confused, “He can get rid of his accent sometimes”.

“HOW THE HELL DO YOU GUYS KNOW THIS?? BECAUSE I SURE DON’T!”

“Joey, calm down!” Tea was holding the blond’s arm. Yami seemed alarmed, but Kaiba looked rather… calm.

“Hey, what’s wrong man?” Tristan stood up and made an effort to hold Joey back from actually hitting the table, “I thought you said you’ve accepted it”.

Joey’s head snapped menacingly to Tristan’s way, “I was talking about you and Serenity, you lil’ shit!!”

Everyone in their table froze. Because honestly, they were all guilty of keeping that fact hidden from Joey; well, except for Kaiba.  
“I don’t all of you tall brunets! All you did was steal from me!!” Joey turned around and pointed at Tea, “First you stole Yugi!” he then turned the other way and pointed at Tristan, “You Serenity”. Last but not least, he faced Kaiba with such a dark look. “And then you. YOU!!!” He pointed at Kaiba, and surprisingly the latter did nothing but sip on his iced coffee while Yami gaped in fear beside him. “YOU STOLE YAMI!!”

“Cant steal what’s mine,” was Kaiba’s comment. Yami facepalmed, “God damn it, Seto”. No wonder he cursed; he’d knew how Kaiba’s reply could add fire to Joey’s anger.

True enough, Joey howled so loud that the manager who usually poke her head silently from behind the registry now jumped to from behind the ordering table so he could calm the situation. When the blond had one foot on the table, Yami hurried to lurch forward so he could hold Joey back while Tea and Tristan worked together to hold the blonde’s arms.

“You said everyone could love anyone!!” Tristan screamed.

“I DON’T CARE! LEMME AT’EM! LEMME PUNCH THAT MONEYBAGS!”

Tristan took a deep breath and screamed louder, “BUT YOU SAID THIS AINT AS BAD AS BAKURA!”

“BAKURA COULD RETURN TO DOMINO FOR ALL I CARE. AS LONG AS I COULD PUNCH KAIBA’S FACE!”

While the situation gets more animated, Kaiba was the only one to stay calmly seated; sipping his coffee. And a bit further from the fast food joint, in the lonely first floor hallway in domino High, Yugi met with a white haired teen.

“I’m Bakura,” a smile and a handshake, “I’ll be in your care”.

If only Joey didnt jinx it.

* * *

TBC


	18. Yami's Little Brother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Warning: This chapter contains sexual act involving two underaged boys, improper use of the Union Jack. I'm sorry my British readers, I have an explanation in latter chapters. I swear it's necessary.  
> 2\. Edit: The Beatles poster in Yami's room was changed to Queen. Dont know why I typed in Beatles and let it that way after posting even though I had Queen in mind when thinking of Yami.

YAMI’S LITTLE BROTHER

* * *

  
Seto dreaded the day his boyfriend would ask him to go meet his group of ‘friends’. That day finally came. And Yami had Seto in his clutch once he held Seto’s hand and leaned forward as though offering a kiss – the catch is, Seto had to agree before actually getting some love from Yami.

“Hey, come meet my friends with me?” the shorter teen smiled wickedly despite being gentle with his tone. No wonder he was acting like such a gentleman since earlier that day – starting from picking Seto up to school (it was a bumpy bike ride bike, but was still more memorable than the car ride with Tanaka), to being more generous with the touches. However, they hadn’t kissed even once that day.

Yami was truly cunning.

With a short yes, Yami closed whatever distance between them. And Kaiba still only received a peck on the cheek.

A promise of ‘It’ll be a good time’ and a quick ‘You’re so handsome’ later, the two of them took off to the local fast food joint. Seto was surprised how good the visit make him feel so far. He liked that Yami was introducing this sort of adventure to him and, however uncharacteristic it was for Kaiba to like it, he liked how Yami catered to him the whole day.  
And for his ‘friends’, well Kaiba had a neutral sentiment on all of them. Low-class Wheeler was there too. They were fine; generic, but quite okay.

Until that order of fried eggplant arrived that is. For the life of him, he couldn’t grasp Yami’s weird tastes sometimes; but he wouldn’t change it for anything. Between the two of them, it’s obvious Yami was the more adventurous one when it comes to taste. Kaiba secretly enjoyed watching Yami struggling to defend his choice of foods before regretting it later on. Then Kaiba would be the one to get some sense drilled into him that ordering a safe, known menu is mostly the better option.

But of course Yami liked his misadventure with food this time.

Seto was so ready to tease him about it once he tried to force his cursed eggplant to Seto. However, Yami’s outreached hand actually went pass him and Gardner.

Instead, it reached the little brother. Like a baby bird would its mom, younger Mutou opened his mouth to welcome the fried eggplant. “Oh wow! That’s better than I thought!” The younger said.

It was then Seto’s eyes went from the younger Mutou to the older one he called ‘boyfriend’ and his mind reeled from the realization. Yami could be a bit weird after all. Would it be surprising for his boyfriend to be contracted with the brother complex disease? To Seto’s horror, no; it wouldn’t be surprising. In fact, it would be fitting.

That day, the existence of Yugi Mutou rose from that of a plankton to an insect in the Kaiba heir’s eyes.

* * *

  
“Hey,” Yami croaked out in the middle of gasping. How could he not? He had just pulled Seto into his house before the brunet was able to press the bell. And after pushing Seto to the wall, the shorter teen actually smooched Seto hotly. Seto hadn’t even taken off his shoes, and Yami was running his hands all over him.

They shared their short hello-es only after almost losing their breath. “What’s with the saucy greeting?” Seto murmured to the shorter’s ear as the other sunk his face to Seto’s shoulder. Yami peeked at him – rather cutely, if Seto had to say. It was strange to use that word on fierce Mr. Mutou – but it boosted Seto’s pride to admit Yami only ever acted cute to him. When he was doing so while dressed casually – no blacks, just a sleeveless white top and faded blue jeans – Seto couldn’t help but feel that Yami’s more relaxed side was saved for Seto and only Seto.

Which was unlikely, considering Seto’s discovery surrounding _Aibou._

The shorter then stood on his tiptoes. “I missed hugging you,” he whispered at Seto. A squeeze on Seto’s waist soon followed.

Really, it was hard to figure out what’s inside Yami’s head. Sometimes he wanted Seto, sometimes he feared him. One day he’s excited to meet Seto, the next day he avoids him. One second he’s allover Seto, and then he easily shies away.

If Kaiba was to compare, this was very different to the relationship he had with Saki. Saki’s much experienced and was very sure of herself. There were less games with her and she knew how to get things going.

With Yami it was a lot like a roller coaster ride. He’s younger than Saki; less experienced; yet he has a presence like no other. His and Seto’s collision was often powerful and heated, but would also came to many abrupt stops thanks to Yami’s clumsy take on relationship.

When they were left to their own accord; alone; their passion would come so undone that Seto sometimes forgot how to pull the brake. Duelist Kingdom had taught Seto that if Yami allowed it to and Seto didn’t assert self-control, he and Yami could very well be a hot mess. Their passionate endeavor was rather hurried, with no bullshit, and was intense.

Yet with that, there’s the insecurities that came with dating someone less experienced and less mature, which was why Yami had been entertaining one ridiculous thought after another. A relationship shouldn’t be that complicated according to Seto. In fact, it was quite straightforward. Obviously he thinks Yami’s smoking hot; he likes the fact that they connect intellectually; and he enjoys the other’s company. Shouldn’t all that be enough?

Not for Yami, obviously.

They’ve settled that problem down for the moment, thankfully. Rather than thinking about that, Seto would rather enjoy this handful of a mess that is Yami Mutou; who is busy gnawing on Seto’s lips. It was Seto’s first time visiting The Mutou’s household. Yami’s Grandfather was out of town and the little brother was off attending school meetings with his cheerleader girlfriend. It was the perfect time to finally have some time to their selves.

With a strong squeeze at Yami’s smaller figure, and Seto liked how he could squeeze and pull at Yami however he liked because a guy like Yami would be strong enough to handle him, Seto pulled away. “Shouldn’t you let me take off my shoes first?”

Yami gazed at his feet. “Yeah, sorry,” the shorter teen rasped. He sneaked his two arms inside Seto’s jacket and slid the piece of clothing off of Seto, “Lemme hang your jacket”.

After another momentary pause where they eyed each other hungrily, Yami shyly pulled Seto to the kitchen. “How about an early lunch? I’ve got something prepared,” he smiled in a un-Yami-like fashion. He was gazing at Seto softly as though he was offering himself at Seto’s service.

“More like brunch,” Seto eyed the long fingers tangled in his. He squeezed it and heard the chuckle that responded to it.

The Mutou’s kitchen wasn’t as sophisticated compared to the kitchen Seto has at his Domino home, nonetheless it has a welcoming atmosphere. The cluttered half-eaten foods and dirty glasses on the counter told a story of a tight-knit family. A bunch of notes were pinned on the fridge. One particular note had a messy handwriting in blue ink, saying; “Tha strooberree mulk is mine. Don touch”, below it was signed with ‘Joey’. Honestly no one could spell as badly as that low class dog. Tragically, on the counter next to the fridge was an empty box of strawberry milk. Seto had the feeling the dog wasn’t the one who had put it there.

“Do you mind sandwiches? I know it’s nothing special, but I’m in the mood for something simple,” Yami put a huge plate of sandwiches on top of the kitchen island. The breads were cut in half in the shape of rectangles.

“Sure,” Seto sat across from the other and took one from the plate. Simple he said, but the bread was warm, the tonkatsu inside was crispy, and the lettuce was fresh. There’s no way this wasn’t homemade. This was made with care however lacking it was in sophistication.

Seto glanced at Yami. The other guy was already eating his sandwich while reading something on his mobile. His boyfriend was definitely up to something to prepare this himself, Seto thought.

The brunet took a bite while keeping his expression neutral. The bread was of course slightly sweet, as do most Japanese bread. The mayonnaise was also sweet, yet it paired perfectly with the hint of soy sauce from the tonkatsu. The pork cutlet itself was lightly battered and it was the spotlight of that first bite. Katsu sando was a Japanese classic, but it was a rare delicacy to someone as affluent as Seto Kaiba. This kind of food implies intimacy and spontaneity, which was almost never present in The Kaiba’s household.

The blue eyes made it’s way to Yami again to find the latter smirking knowingly back at him. The next thing he knew, Yami was making kissy face at him rather cheekily – which Seto liked despite how gross and childish it was. It was way below Seto’s level; but Yami’s ‘Mwah!!’ somehow translated to charming in Seto’s eyes. And while it could be disgusting on any other couple, Seto liked the sassy expression on Yami. Honestly Seto didn’t mind acting gross when it comes to this boy.

“Hnn,” Seto smiled cockily, “Not bad”. He wasn’t sure if the comment was for the food or for the effort Yami was pulling to impress. Either way it was working in Yami’s favor.

Yami’s smile grew to a lopsided grin. The boy actually winked at Seto before he moved to the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of iced lemon tea. He poured a glass for Seto; ice cubes, straw and all; and landed it next to Seto with that teasing smile. The next thing he did was to start the conversation by asking about the school festival sponsor. In the middle of that, Yami extended his arm and joined his hand with Seto’s right beside the sandwich platter. A simple gesture, but with his smile and the way he leaned forward as though everything Seto said next would be the most interesting thing, it was surprisingly… nice. It wasn’t romantic; but Seto liked chatting about mundane stuff with Yami in a domestic setting.

“So…,” Yami wiped his hands with a napkin, “Wanna go to my room?”

There were only three pieces of sandwiches left on the plate and the pitcher was more than half empty. Seto watched his lover carefully from behind his drink. Whatever Yami planned for his next move would be interesting; especially if it was the bedroom. Yami’s bedroom. Once they get there it would mean business. After all, the shorter teen had promised Seto he would return the favor from Duelist Kingdom.

That talk they had at the camp must be a turning point for Yami that he actually offered a blowjob at his own home.

Yami was looking sheepish. He shifted in his seat. “We can have popsicles as dessert,” he said.

That was a funny way to put it. _And you’ll be having mine_ , Seto thought absently as he too wiped his hands with a napkin. What he didn’t expect was Yami actually asking him which flavor he wanted; because, innuendo or not, there really were popsicles in the refrigerator.

“How about strawberry? We use fresh strawberries,” Yami handed him the innocent red homemade popsicle. Seto took it dumbly. If this all turned out to be a joke, he would be very disappointed.

They stood side by side by the kitchen island as they relished on the sweet treat. “You have a lot of these,” Seto commented airily as he bit on the popsicle. Yami shrugged.

“I might have made it for practice”.

Seto froze and bent his head down until he could almost see the shorter in the eye; “Practice what?”

Yami was sucking on his treat before he gave it an aggressive bite. He gave a manly chuckle then, before taking Seto by the hand and pulled him out of the kitchen.

“Hey, practice what?” Seto asked again – playfully – because the way Yami was laughing as they walked the noisy stairs and crossed the narrow hallway was playful. He was being a tease; and Seto rather liked it.

“So… this is my room,” Yami said finally after turning around to face Seto. On his back was a door. Yami was leaning back to it rather suggestively. With a soft click, the door opened slowly behind him; but Yami let his gaze lingered on Seto before he led them inside, “Come in”.

Seto had zero idea what Yami’s bedroom would look like. Yami’s an organized person, but not to the point of obsession like Seto (who actually had a collection of Legos sorted by shape and colors back in Tokyo). Yami also has quite the taste, but he’s not that sophisticated either.

The first thing that caught Seto’s eye would be the twin sized bed and it’s British flag blanket. Now that’s cultural appropriation at it’s best. However, it kind of fits Yami, especially with his daily wear and the huge poster of the infamous rock band, Queen, on the wall beside it.

The dark red wallpapers were mostly kept empty and clean. Seto somehow expected more personality there, but he reckoned that Yami might be tidier and simpler than that. The desk itself was kept most empty beside he PC and the pen holder though the two tall shelves beside it tells a story of a teen with many hobbies. Books are sorted alphabetically, and under the row of pictures in frames were two rows of plastic containers where Seto suspected Yami kept his cards and other trinkets (the guy was into board games). A tiny shoe rack filled with black boots was placed beside the built in cupboard, and right on top of it was a full body mirror with a doodled “Love Yourself!” on the bottom part and accessories hanging from the top of its frame.

The room was tidier than what Seto expected a typical teenage boy’s room would be, not that Seto would know how that goes because his own room was kept as pristine as a room display in a designer’s gallery by professional’s hands on a daily basis. However, Yami’s room was rich with personality; from Taylor’s guitar inside the laundry basket, to the cork board filled with colorful notes and printed internet articles. Seto went closer to the cork board and saw it’s calendar-like sticky note. There was a heart on that very date.

The reminder that Yami saw the day important enough to note it down made Seto heart skip. And just like that, Yami was somehow in front of him. The shorter male took the now clean popsicle stick and put it on two layers of tissue on his nightstand. He then, while hugging Seto, pushed the taller teen until Seto flopped gracefully to a sitting position on the side of the bed.

Seto watched the back of Yami’s head that was now nuzzled to Seto’s stomach as the guy kept his hands around Seto’s midsection while he was on his knees on the floor. When Yami looked up to meet Seto’s gaze, he said, “So about the favor I told you…”

Seto snorted. With a smirk, he replied, “Yes, about that favor”.

Yami pouted – and he rarely does that – while looking down, “Now you’re making this harder for me on purpose”.

“What, you want to do this here? On top of the British flag? My, Mr. Mutou, you’re a bold one”.

“Someone gave this to me!”

“Is it from that idiot mutt? No wonder. He might’ve mistaken it for the American flag”.

“Oh, shut up! My friend isn’t that stupid,” Yami was half glaring at this point, but he then smiled at Seto. The exchange had completely helped him relax it seemed.

“It’s not that hard, it’s right there by your face,” Seto added, referring to his own genitals, “I promise you it wouldn’t taste that far off from the popsicles”.

Yami rolled his eyes, but leaned upward to meet Seto’s lips in a kiss that tasted as cold and sweet as the popsicle they just ate. Yami’s arm was hooked onto Seto’s neck. It was a painful position to make out, with Yami already shorter than him in the first place and sitting below him. But there was a lot of anticipation for this day and no pain would ruin it. Yami was somehow more open about the sexual side of this relationship after his sudden doubt on it. Seto noted, that misstep from Yami might be necessary for the two of them. It felt like a lot was taken from their shoulders.

With their mouths still connected, Yami stood up slowly and put one knee between Seto’s slightly opened legs; forcing the latter to bent his head upward. Yami then let go of their kiss; his breath slightly heavy. The sunlight from the window was casted over Yami’s back and exaggerated the toned lines of his already bronzed skin. The dimple-filled smile came just then, and Seto thought Yami looked really hot as he lifted his two arms to tie his hair.

“Wow,” Seto murmured in awe. His hands weren’t shying away from the back of Yami’s jeans. He groped it like it was a natural gesture. “How about taking off your shirt?”

Yami looked down at himself, “My shirt?” Seto thought he’s going to deny that request; but he didn’t. Yami lifted up his shirt and carelessly threw it away. Now he knew Yami was truly willing and offering.

Like hypnotized, Seto spontaneously nuzzled into Yami’s chest. Yami made a surprised gasp. “Set! What -!” Two strong hands were now clutching at Seto’s head – in resistance or encouragement, no one knew. It kind of hurt, and Seto liked that part about their ‘playtime’ because it was exciting to be rough. When Seto made a playful nip on Yami’s nipple, Yami’s squeak turned into that of a silent moan.

“I hate it when you surprise me like that!” Yami complained right after; his hand covering the nipple Seto just played with. They were both laughing, but when Seto lurched forward for another surprise attack, the man-to-man struggle became half real. Yami’s clutch on Seto’s head was extremely painful, but Seto enjoyed the fact that he too could swing Yami’s whole body around if he ever wanted to. Yami’s high pitched protest, how he was leaning so far from the bed that he could fall anytime, was entertaining to hear as Seto made another nip to his other chest. Maybe Seto could tackle him to an impossible position or maybe –

“Oof!”

Maybe Yami could retaliate and push him instead. Because now, the shirtless teen did just that and he was clutching the back of Seto’s head so aggressively while he shoved his own face to Seto. The kiss was hot and messy, slowly dissipating to a sweeter note before they let go to see each other in the eye.

“I want to mark you,” Yami whispered suddenly; eyes glazed as he searched around Seto’s face. “Can I?” Yami added.

Seto tilted his head a bit as he gave a look toward his boyfriend, “You sure you know how to properly do it?” Before an answer could be heard, Yami was already leaning down to Seto’s neck. Seto could feel the slight sting and the electric sensation that followed after a hickey was made. He must have hissed while it lasted.

“Akh! Poundcake, you really didn’t hold back,” he scolded lightly. In actuality though, he liked it.

“I did a pretty good job though,” Yami was now rubbing the spot as he took a good look at it, then he leaned forward again to add another nip. Seto gritted his teeth as he clutched on Yami’s slender waist. Shit, this guy could really make good use of his mouth.

“It’s very red because you’re so pale,” Yami said not long after. He was still rubbing on that spot, which made Seto tingly all over. “Hey Seto? What’s wrong?” Now Yami was suddenly right in front of his face, “Oh wow you’re so red! Was it that good for you?” The shorter male then cupped Seto’s face with his two hands, “You’re so cute”. He finalized his comment with a peck on the lips.

For the life of him, Seto had never been on the receiving end of a hickey while he was with Saki. He had always think hickey’s a guy thing. This experience was rather new to him – and he didn’t hate it. But he wouldn’t accept being called cute.

“It’s _handsome_ ,” He pinched the tip of Yami’s chin and shook it left and right, “Get it? Note it down”.

“Geez! Alright alright, Your Majesty!” Yami hurriedly let go of the other and rubbed his chin. His eyes drifted down at that moment onto Seto’s crotch before they scurried away to meet Seto’s gaze. “So um,” Yami started, a bit startled by the discovery that there was a bulge under Seto’s pants. The older Mutou left Seto’s lap and wandered a bit. “Unzip your pants,” he finally said.

Seto, who had been watching, snorted at the display of anxiety; but unzipped his pants anyway. “Okay, done,” he muttered coolly. Yami was taking a drink from a bottle of water on top of his nightstand. He fixed his hair then lowered himself onto his knees on the floor between Seto’s legs again.

“Hey,” Seto called while bumping Yami’s side with his right knee, “We can do this later if you want”.

“No, I can do this right now,” Yami insisted. He had his two arms on top of Seto’s thighs as he eyed the white underwear poking from inside Seto’s opened zipper. With a last look to Seto, Yami slowly pulled the underwear down to reveal Seto’s dick. They were both taking in deep breath; Seto’s out of anticipation, Yami’s out of nerve.

Seto was already semi-hard. Yami let his hand hovered by it, before he took the dick and gave it a slow pump. Seto breathe in through gritted teeth. The sight of him, shirtless and touching Seto’s dick in his room would be forever ingrained in Seto’s mind.

Yami directed the cock to his mouth. He licked his lips, and slowly took the tip inside.  
Seto sighed. It didn’t last long though. Yami hurriedly let it out and made a face. “Wow,” he commented, “Tastes very different to what I thought”.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Tastes like… a bit tangy? Salty?” He said, but he resumed his task without hesitation. Yami was thoughtful enough to net let his teeth grazed Seto’s dick. In fact, for a beginner, he was not bad.

Yami’s hand kept pumping the base while he mouthed the head. He let go for air a second time, hand still doing the work. “I think I’ve got the hang of it,” He told Seto. Seto couldn’t resist touching Yami’s face and stroking his whole head. To think that this boy would swallow his dick whole was quite something.

Yami returned to the task; this time going deeper and with faster pace. Seto craned his neck up and squeezed Yami’s hair a bit tighter. “Damn Poundcake!” He grunted. Yami was now pumping his dick with more enthusiasm. The way his head bobbed up and down on Seto was a wonder, but the way he also tilted his head swiftly left and right like a snake while doing that was magical. At the end of his ministration, Yami stopped by the tip to give it an aggressive suck before he let go of the cock with a loud smack.

Seto flopped onto the mattress. Fuck, this boy was a natural. He could see Yami eyeing the cock with more focus as he kept a steady rhythm on his hand movements. Yami’s breath was racing too; and the drop of sweat by the side of his face told Seto that he also enjoyed it.

This time, Yami gave the upper half of Seto’s dick a slow pump, each time his hand reached the head, he gave it a little more pressure as he grazed the sensitive tip. And every time his hand stroked the tip, Seto’s waist flinched terribly. “Ugh, shit!” Seto gasped, hand slapping his own eyes.

“Good?” Yami called.

“Ungh -! Fuck… Yeah it’s fucking g-good”. Yami really knew his pacing. He would stroke the tip three times, then let go. He would repeat it, just enough until Seto was at his wit’s end, and let go again. “Fuck,” Seto hooked a leg around Yami possessively, hand still extended to grip on Yami’s bangs. “I think something’s coming out,” Seto said, referring to his precum.

“Yeah, I can somewhat taste it,” Yami replied. He lunged at Seto’s dick again, this time bobbing his head with a faster pace while his right hand massaged the base and the other constrained Seto’s waist. Seto was sure Yami deep-throated him a couple of time, because he could hear the gagging noise. Whatever Yami did, Seto barely had any idea. He was stone hard and he was absolute he was spurting a bit of precum inside Yami’s mouth – not that Yami seemed to notice with the way he’s going.

“I’m about to bust Poundcake,” he warned in between long deep breathes. He couldn’t make sure if Yami had heard it, but the guy didn’t seem to falter. It was then that he stopped at the head of Seto’s dick again and gave it another suck.

Seto climaxed – unexpectedly. And after having that short moment of bliss, Seto’s awareness kicked in and he quickly take a look at his boyfriend.

Yami had his hand hovering in front of his mouth; surprise was coloring his whole face. By the tiny white line of semen that stained his face from the mouth to the cheek, Seto confirmed one thing; he had released inside Yami’s mouth.

“Poundcake do you have it in your mouth!?” He asked anyway, in panic more than curiosity. Yami nodded slowly, the messy part of his hair where Seto had been pulling bobbed along with his head. Seto looked around in hurry for anything to contain the cum, “You have to spit it out!”

It was then that Yami stood up slowly, still with that shocked expression, and Seto heard someone gulping. He snapped his head toward his lover, “Yami, did you just swallow!?”

Yami said nothing. His grew even larger as he now covered his mouth with two hands. Seto grabbed the other teen by the shoulders. He shook Yami a bit, “Poundcake, did you!?”

Yami nodded. “Why!?” Seto exclaimed, his eyes mirrored Yami’s.

“I-I don’t know,” Yami answered finally – and it was obvious then that the only trace left of their previous activities on Yami’s mouth was that small stain of semen on his cheek.

“Why!?”

“… I don’t know”.

They both stared at each other; eyes huge and jaws slack. “Will I… Will I get pregnant?” Yami questioned with a small voice. The question didn’t came out of foolishness. Yami was not stupid, and nor was Seto. Yet surprise and panic were clouding their judgement. The question was a representative to a whole lot more of complicated questions, like; _what now that I’ve swallowed? Is that bad? Is that good? Am I dying?_

Seto himself, despite knowing full well of human biology and the simple answer to Yami’s question, found himself silenced as he pondered on the possibilities. Should they go to the doctor? Or should they tell Amy first?

Right about then they heard the doorbell ringing. They ignored it at first, but the door was then could be heard opened and a voice was calling Yami’s name.

“Shit! Is it common for someone to just invite their selves inside your house??” Seto exclaimed. The fact that Yami seemed more concerned about swallowing than this told Seto that it was indeed normal for someone to go inside the house. “I’ll check them out. You stay here,” Seto climbed the bed and stepped around it to land on another part of the floor. He wandered around before stopping to take off his shirt. “I’m borrowing your shirt, just in case my shirt smells like… sex,” Seto said while taking a hanged shirt on the door.

Before leaving the room, Seto stopped by the door to watch Yami. The latter was still frozen. Seto noted the bulge in Yami's pants. He regretted the fact that they werent able to take care of that. “Just wait here for me. I’ll take care of you,” Seto promised.

* * *

  
“I umm… I’m borrowing the kitchen”.

So it was one of Yami’s friends. Taylor, was it? When will he stop borrowing Yami his guitar?

“Yeah. The kitchen’s over here,” Seto led the way. Once there, Taylor was quick to go with the flow. He moved like he knew where everything was, though he was eyeing the half eaten donut suspiciously.

“So… where’s Yami?”

Seto’s eyes drifted upward as he wondered what Yami was doing at the moment. Of course, he couldn’t disclose what they had done together to Taylor, so he said, “Napping”.

Don’t blame Seto for feeling protective of Yami. The boy was waiting for him upstairs, with a serious erection for Seto to take care of.

The anticipation made Seto’s throat dry. A drink would be nice to wash away this excitement.

“What do you wanna do?” Taylor blurted suddenly. Seto frowned and tilted the cup he just grabbed to make his point.

“Drinking”.

“You should use another cup. You cant use that one. Because that…,” Taylor paused, “That’s Yugi’s. And no one else can use it”.

What the fuck. “It’s a cup. He could have any other cup in this house,” Seto uttered in slight annoyance.

“Yami wouldn’t have allowed you”.

Now he was crossing the line, Seto thought. He was lucky Seto didn’t share even a glimpse of what he and Yami had shared. If he had, Taylor wouldn’t be able to lift a finger against Seto in this house… and not ever while in Yami’s presence, he was sure.

No matter. Seto never cared about stupid rules. He took the cup with him to the fridge, served himself a full cup of apple juice, and chugged it up with class. “We’ll see,” he told Taylor cockily.

Speak of the devil, Yami appeared right at that moment; in a bigger clean shirt that covered him to the waist and with less messy hair. He greeted his friend first; but when his eyes met Seto, he simply said, “Yugi’s cup,” before he continued to talk with his friend.

Of course, Seto had no idea why the cup was worth mentioning. But a point had been proven. He proudly left Taylor to bask in this finding. See? No little brother could make Yami go against Seto.

Seto waited in the living room for his boyfriend while he browsed for the health risk of swallowing semen. Yami joined him on the couch minutes later. “Hey,” the shorter teen greeted shyly. He was sitting quite a distance from Seto too.

Seto eyed the door to the kitchen to see if Taylor could view them from where he’s at. Taylor returned his gaze with wide eyes, then quickly looked away. Seto turned to his boyfriend, “Drinking semen isn’t harmful for the body”.

“Hm? Oh,” Yami flushed.

Seto continued, “They said the practice is quite common, if you were curious.”

“Yeah,” Yami nodded slightly as he looked ahead to the unturned TV, “I didn’t find it disgusting, for your information. I was just surprised. Swallowing something of you,” Yami paused, “Is like a secret dream of mine. Am I weird? I must’ve sound weird to you”.

How was that weird? What Yami had done was sending another shockwave throughout Seto’s body as his heart rocked his ribcage again and again. “I kind of fantasizes it sometimes,” Yami added, “Or sometimes I see you drinking my spit, and I find that very appealing”. The shorter teen was now looking at Seto. The way he said all that was very straightforward and curt.

Seto really wanted to kiss Yami now. But Taylor had a clear view of the couch and Seto would rather not have him think it was his fucking business just because he was Yami’s friend. Instead, Seto took another sip of his apple juice.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen anyone drink from Aibou’s cup”.

Seto paused. That petname again.

_Aibou._

Yami didn’t always use it, but when he did it was with an expression Seto used to think Yami only saved for Seto. The thing is, Seto used to believe that that corny and clingy nature of Yami was Seto’s only. But then there’s Aibou…, who was no one else but Yugi.

“It’s a bit mean that he used it everyday while I keep mine still with the box in my room,” Yami complained. Seto slowly turned toward his boyfriend.

“You have the same cup?”

“Not exactly the same, but it’s the pair. There’s a half a sentence there, see?” Yami pointed at the cup’s body, “But Yugi used it so often that you could barely read any of it”.

Seto frowned slightly, “What did it say?”

“Hm? Oh well, it wouldn’t make any sense anyway because it has to be read along with the pair cup. It reads Forever Inseparable,” Yami smiled, “Cool huh? I bought it for him”.

Seto gave a weird look at Yami’s joyous expression. He took another sip from the cup, which had now left a sour aftertaste in his palate.

While he had no doubt the rest of the day would follow with a sweet note, Seto knew he would leave the house with a bit of burden in mind.

Indeed, Seto Kaiba had acknowledged Yugi Mutou.

* * *

  
_You_  
_Just hacked into your stock_  
_Saved you from bankruptcy_

 _Mokuba_  
_Thx Big Bro!_  
_Ur the best!!_

 _Consult your advisors_  
_You keep on making the same mistakes_  
_I cant save your ass everytime_

 _Nope :p_  
_Hated them. Still do_

They both made it a habit to check each other’s computer once in a while – and Mokuba could be a bit playful (he once hacked into Kaiba’s documents and changed the background for his presentation to a Kpop Girl Group wallpaper). The younger Kaiba had a habit of pushing his nose into Kaiba’s business for sure, but, while Kaiba may not make hacking a living (and a hobby), he could at least close the door in places he knew Mokuba shouldn’t access. Still, he would sometime be helpful with his hacking skill, from handing in important information about a possible traitor to spilling a rival’s secret.

Thus was the complicated relationship between Seto and his little stalker. There was a time when he couldn’t decide between hating Mokuba and liking him, considering his mother’s role in Seto’s mother’s departure from Japan; but at the end of the day Seto was glad he found a comrade within Mokuba.

 _You_  
_About my phone_  
_Stop trying_  
_It’s a waste of time_

 _Mokuba_  
_U found out?_  
_XP_  
_I was curious why u put extra protection on one folder_  
_Even tho its ur phone_  
_U never did that b4_

 _You wouldn’t like it_  
_It’s my Yummy file_

Seto smirked. Mokuba would catch the drift. Yummy=Yami, get it?

 _EWWWWWWWWW_  
_GROSSSS_  
_FUCK OFF_

That was how a healthy relationship with your brother should be. There might be a time when all you want to do was sleep in the same bed and hug, but at one point you’d rather kiss a dog than wear the same shirt with your brother. That same rule applies to a couple cup.

Then here comes Seto’s boyfriend. For the life of him, Seto adored that stunningly handsome boy; but he could be a bit… weird. Seto tried appreciating every single quirk of Yami’s although sometimes it caught him off guard. This latest discovery about his brother complex being one.

“Here Yugi, let me give you a hand,” Yami said to his brother as the latter just entered the Council’s Office with his hands full with boxes. Among the people inside the office, Yami was the only one to notice Yugi’s presence – not even Gardner noticed. Because honestly, everyone was busy preparing for the festival and Yugi was old enough to help himself. Seto swore Yami was the only one who thinks his brother still needed assistance in everything he does.

Yugi Mutou used to be a bully target. He was scrawny, timid, and weak; and the only thing that saved him throughout middle school was his more charismatic older brother. But came high school he changed into this well-liked talented character. He was the class rep and was titled the kindest freshman in freshman orientation week. Everyone in his class dubbed him as cool, admirable, and smart; while some of them would note his talent in art and design.

In just a couple of months Yugi Mutou was dubbed a prominent member in Domino High Art Club. Even his club seniors openly admired him and his designs. It seemed that Yugi was known for his talent in drawing monsters and alien-like figures; all of them, Seto admitted, would make a wonderful design for duel monster cards. The club even won a competition last month thanks to Yugi’s design; defeating some of the best art colleges in Japan. The talks of making him the art club’s president was already spread. Not only that, the club seemed to think Yugi was dating a cheerleader.

But it wasn’t Gardner.

That was another drama altogether. He might have done more stalking than needed to look into his boyfriend’s brother, but he didn’t care enough to look into Yugi’s love life. It’s interesting to note though that it was difficult to make a connection between the Yugi in middle school and the Yugi in high school. In fact almost everyone Seto talked to speak of him as though they never knew the bully victim Yugi used to be.

Yugi Mutou was more than what meets the eye indeed. Everyone thought The Cheerleader Captain would only hang out with a group of misfit because of Yami, and they were convinced Taylor and Wheeler, who were Yugi’s most prominent bullies, were kept in check because they also feared Yami. What they didn’t see is that they were all gravitating toward the unseen member of that group of friends. To think that Yugi was capable of keeping the popular girl everyone dubbed was his brother’s perfect partner and to inflict such loyalty from his two ex-bullies; was such an enigma. With that, Yugi also had his older brother at the palm of his hand. Easily, the younger Mutou wins over this round.

“Of course you couldn’t win over him! He’s such a great guy and you’re a simpleton!”

Seto was disturbed out of his musings and looked around to find the source of that comment. Turned out it wasn’t directed to him. A group of boys, most likely the guys who were in charge of the festival equipment’s, were taking a break in the corner of the Council’s Office. They were making fun of one of their own while pointing at a magazine.

“Forget it man! A pretty actress like her would never lay her eyes on a commoner like you!! His new boyfriend’s already hogging all of her attention,” one of them said loudly while laughing.

Another guy was half crying, “But Nanase-chaaann. I’ve been her fan since her debut!!!” The rest of the guys were laughing at his demise. Wheeler though, who was part of that group, took the magazine and inspected it seriously.

“Forget bout her, dude! S’plenty o’ fish in the sea,” Wheeler dumped the magazine on the desk, “Sides, wha’ are ya lookin’ at in brunettes? They’re borin’ I’m tellin’ ya!!”

The boys in that group were now growing noisier as they became excited at Wheeler’s claim. “So what? You’re saying you prefer blondes??” Someone in the group asked Wheeler. Wheeler didn’t answer immediately. It seemed that he hadn’t have it figured out himself.

“Yea! Yea! Definitely, blondes are better than brunettes, yall!” the guy, a blond himself, stated confidently. It was then Gardner walked by their group and Seto saw Wheeler sending the girl a sideway glare. “An’ definitely. DEFINITELY. I won’t date someone taller than myself!!” Wheeler added.

Gardner, noticing the reference, flinched and hurried her steps. Following her movements, Wheeler’s eyes stranded to Seto. The blond glared, “And I like’em busty!! With _real_ boobs; big boobs! I don’ like, and I repeat, I DUN’ LIKE FLAT WOMEN. REAL WOMEN ARENT FLAT I’M TELLIN’ YA. I WANT REAL WOMENNNN”.

The boys were then growling like animals as they screamed “WOMENNN!!” While hitting their hands onto the desk to make more noise. You could hear one of the girls who also volunteered in the Council saying, “Shut the fuck up!” from the other side of the room.  
Seto rolled his eyes. It seemed Wheeler was still salty about his and Yami’s relationship. The thing is, Yugi was actually the one to show his support first and pushed them to make the announcement to the rest of the gang. The guy’s kindness pissed Seto even more somehow.

“I’m taking a break!” Yami exclaimed to everyone. Some comments like “We’ll take it from here,” and ,”buy me chocolate (this was Dan),” were heard after him as he went to his bag and took a small box. Seto recognized that box. It was Yami’s duel card case.

Excited, Seto took his own deck from his bag and followed Yami. The shorter teen was calling Wheeler from the noisy group of boys and they both went to a slightly more peaceful area in the Office.

“You and me; we should play,” Seto demanded to Yami as he arrived on the desk Yami and Wheeler sat by.

“Na-uh-uh! Yami has a playdate with me today!” Wheeler stated victoriously. Seto glared at him, then turned to his lover.

“Duel me,” he repeated. Yami gave a flat smile and dropped his shoulders, “Can’t. I’ve promised Joey I’ll taught him dueling some more today”.

Seto tch-ed and glared at Wheeler’s cocky grin. “Haha, moneybags. One for me, zero for you. Yami never breaks his promise!”

“Fine. Let’s play two against two then,” Seto insisted. He looked around; looking for someone who’s capable of making Yami regret choosing Wheeler over him – someone that could make Yami jealous – someone with such a power over Yami.

“Mutou!” Seto called. Yugi, who was close by, turned around. Seto continued, “You duel? Play on my team”.

The first year approached their desk, “Hmm? Are you guys going two-on-two? That’s rare, even for you Yami”.

“Do you want to play or not?”

“Oh, sure, sure! Let me tell everyone I’m taking a break first,” the younger Mutou left their desk momentarily. His older brother was glaring at Seto with his arms crossed. The message was clear and Seto was satisfied. Coolly, Seto pulled a chair to the desk and sat facing Yami. He shuffled his cards, all the while watching Yami sighing before he followed Seto’s example.

Yugi joined them moments later. “Okay, guys. I’m here with my deck!”

“Great, we can now duel,” Seto mumbled.

“Really? You don’t want to maybe look at my deck first?”

“No, we can proceed,” he didn’t need Yugi’s assistance to beat both Wheeler and Yami anyway, “Lets duel!”

Traditional dueling was less dramatic compared to the one on the arena, nonetheless it’s equally as intense. Everyone had a blank paper to count their LP and explanations on their attacks sometimes involved some arguments. Seto and Yami didn’t get much into those unnecessary explaining though; they were both quite knowledgeable about the cards. However, Wheeler stumbled upon one mistake to the other. He didn’t even know how to position his card correctly on the field. And Yugi, because he’s such a nice guy, ended up helping Wheeler despite playing for the opposite team.

Whatever, Seto decided he shall hurry to eliminate Wheeler from the game and focus on dueling Yami. With that, he’ll be able to show these lot who’s Yami’s equal rival.

True enough, Wheeler lost all of his LP in Seto’s hand. “Awwww maannnnn!” He groaned.

“It’s okay Joey! You’ve been progressing a lot. See? You’re even able to set a combination of traps on your own now!” Yugi cheered. Wheeler actually perked up.

Yami nodded, “Yes. I didn’t even help you as much this time!”

“Really? Alright!! In no time at all I’ll be able to even defeat you Moneybags!!” The bumbling idiot exclaimed loudly.

“Say that after you’ve learned how to separate between monsters and traps”.

“Why, damn you!!!”

“Hey, hey, lets all get along,” Yugi disrupted, “It’s my turn now”. The guy took a card and put it some thought before keeping it in his hand. To Seto’s surprise, this guy was faring very well in the duel. In fact he had been a good support to Seto’s hand. Seto almost believed he knew what he was doing.

However, the game was obviously between him and Yami now that the burden on Yami’s side was gone. Yami too had been sending looks toward Seto. The battle was on.

The next turns were spent with attacks after attacks from both Yami and Seto. Both were engaging one another to the point of jaw-breaking combos. Yami was slightly ahead of Seto, admittedly; but Seto barely cared. He just wanted to show these two how Yami dueled when faced against a proper rival. And in his arrogance, he didn’t care if he lost. All he wanted was for these fools to see where Yami belonged.

Thus why he accepted it calmly when his LP reached zero. “That was…,” Wheeler started in awe, “That was so epic! That was world-level dueling!!”

“Take a picture, Wheeler. This might be a once in a lifetime chance for you,” Seto said while gathering his scattered deck on the desk.

“Why you -!”

“Guys, come on!” Yugi disrupted once again, “It’s my turn”.

After saying that, Yugi proceeded to unleash one attack after another. It was a wonder how this guy could build such a thorough combination attack while laying low this whole time. Yami ended up so overwhelmed in the end that he faltered in counting his LP.

“Uhh, wait! Wait a minute!” Yami paused in the middle of his paper to check on the cards he had facing down. He peeked inside them one by one to see if he had anything to counter against Yugi, even just a tiny bit. After turning the last card down again, he returned to his paper and resumed counting seriously. At the end of the equation, Yami seemed lost.

“… I’ve lost”.

“You what?” Seto asked, “Let me see that!” He took Yami’s paper and checked if the teen counted correctly.

“I lost all my life points! I lost!” Yami repeated after dropping his pen and lifting his arms to stretch, “Damn it Aibou!”

Seto gaped at the paper. Yami didn’t make any mistakes in his math. His LP turned up at -150, and that was an absolute defeat.

“Woah! Great job Yug! Saving the best for last as always, ya nasty boy!” Wheeler gave the other a fist bump and Yugi laughed.

“Yami’s a bit distracted. I’d have no chance if he ever pulled exodia,” Yugi admitted lightheartedly and rose from his seat, “Ugh, I better get going. I’ve got something I need to do!”

“Wait wait wait!” Seto cut to the chase. He dropped Yami’s paper and pointed dumbly at it, “You defeated The King of Games”. It wasn’t an official title, but a lot of fan dubbed Yami so.

“Hm?” Yugi tilted his head, “Yeah I guess?”

He guessed? Seto looked down at the clutter of cards on the desk in disbelief. Did he know how much of a deal this is? It took Seto plenty of losses to finally beat Yami. And now this scrawny kid turned up in this measly Student Council Office, playing a traditional duel, singlehandedly defeated Yami; and said he guessed he defeated The King of Games? Did Seto hear that correctly?

“Anyhow, good game everyone. I need to visit the third years classrooms,” Yugi said.

“What business do have you in the third years’ floor?” Yami was quick to interrogate.

Yugi sighed, “I was tasked to watch over this new kid and he seems to be getting himself into trouble from the get go. I found him being cornered by the third years yesterday”.

Yami’s brows met, “New kid?”

“Hol’ up, wow. Why the heck would you be tasked with taking care of the kid?” Wheeler chimed in.

“I kind of get to know him before his official transfer to my class and everyone thinks we’re friends or something,” Yugi shrugged, “Anyway, his father asked the school to pair him up with another student to get him used to the school system and the such. He’s transferred from abroad and was homeschooled before, so yeah”.

“Abroad? Where from? I didn’t know we have someone like that transferring into the school,” Yami said.

“From UK,” Yugi paused to scowl, “I really gotta go. I’ve lost track of him and the third years from yesterday looked like delinquents”.

“Then let me go with ya! It’s unsafe to visit the third year’s area alone!!” Wheeler rose from his seat too.

“No, don’t you guys get it?” Seto grunted and looked at Yami, “He defeated you!”

Yami looked too casual to comprehend the fact. He and Wheeler turned to him with lazy eyes as though wondering why they were back to this topic. “Yeah. It happens,” Yami stated with a shrug and a small chuckle.

Yugi actually didn’t pay attention to Seto’s exclaim. “No Joey, you cant go. You still have to discuss the budget with the equipment team, remember?”

“Yug, you cant go there on your own!” Joey protested, totally blocking Seto cursing at Yami’s scoring note.

“I’ve asked Tristan. Couldn’t find him anywhere though, is he busy with something?”

Yami craned his neck up slightly and pointed ahead of them, “There’s the cookie boy right there! YO T! C’MERE!”

“The fuck. What. The. Fuck,” Seto murmured. How could they act so normally after seeing this kid beating a professional duelist?

“Trist! Come with me to the third years’,” Yugi said almost immediately after Tristan arrived by their desk.

“Now? Sure! After I take these cookies to Ms. Secretary though,” Taylor lifted his arm to show the huge tupperware filled with cookies. He then caught the messy sight of their desk, “Oooooh, your boy Joey Wheeler right here is dueling with the big guys I see!”  
The two teens shared a series of fist bumps and handshake. “Aaaay, future professional duelist Joey Wheeler at your service!” Wheeler boasted. Seto turned to Taylor with wide eyes.

“Don’t you guys get it? He defeated Yami,” Seto said again while pointing at Yugi.

“Again?? Awww, the whole world wanna keep you humble, Yami!” Taylor attempted to give Yami’s shoulder a light punch. Yami responded by catching it with his palm, “Cut it out!”

But Seto caught the ‘again’ in Taylor’s comment. However innocent the word might be, that implied similar events had taken place in the past.

“T, you coming?” Yugi was already on his way out.

“Hey, wait!” Taylor fastened his step behind the shorter guy as they both went to Ms. Secretary to hand the cupcake and then left the room.

Seto scratched his head and observed Yami’s counting paper in exasperation. “I think you guys don’t get it,” he said, still amazed by how the duel turned out. Wheeler suddenly perked in excitement.

“Hey, ya think Tristan saved some cookies for us?”

“Usually he does,” Yami shrugged, “Ooh! You think he made pink ones for Tea again?”

“If he did, I’ll have them all eaten before the girl finds it! Do you believe what she did? She stole my strawberry milk!!”

Yami coughed, “Joey, that was me”.

“THE FUCK,” Seto slammed his hands on the desk, still figuring out how Yami was defeated so easily, “WHAT THE FUCK”. It was amazing how everyone was able to ignore him.

“Yami, you traitor!! THAT WAS MY STRAWBERRY MILK”.

“FUCK!”

“MY MILK, YAMI!"

"FUUUCKKK".

"MY MILK!!"

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**I know, Poundcake is a ridiculous pet name. I was looking for an uncharacteristic pet name for Seto to call Yami. It has to be improper, suggestive, a bit cute, but veeerry corny. I took the inspiration from a Beyonce song. (Imagine someone calling Beyonce Poundcake!)**

 

 


	19. Seto's Daddy

SETO'S DADDY

* * *

 

  
Seto was standing in a kitchen unfamiliar to himself; and he noticed, by the silky smooth texture and weight of his clothing, that he was dressed smartly. There’s a half empty flute of champagne in his right hand and he was sneaking some looks to his Rolex.

‘I don’t have time for this,’ was his passing thought. Although once he lowered his watch, the sight of a tiny girl await.

“DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?” She shrieked in a voice befitting that of a two years-old, which seemed to be her exact age. Her pose was haughty; a pudgy hand was holding a an uncovered sippy cup filled with pink drink complete with a swirly golden straw; the other held a golden balloon, but was pointing madly at 6 ft tall Seto Kaiba.

He had to give it to her. No baby has ever had the gal to scream at him; not even in family gatherings.

“Who are you again?” He was surprised at how calm he sounded. The little girl was trying hard to look scary (and failed). From which cousin was this girl again? Kaiba honestly couldn’t keep up with the list of cousins, nephews and nieces alike. The fluffy brown hair was definitely a trademark of The Kaiba’s bloodline (except a handful), but he didn’t remember having any cousin with the same blue eyes as his.

The girl stomped each of her feet once, the red silk dress bobbing in accordance to her movements. “I am the Kaiba heiress and I am going to fire you!!!”

Ha. Of course she is. That was the Kaiba glare she had on her face, and he, Grandma, plus numerous others had exactly the same icy stare. It was cute and all that the line of succession is kicking and thriving still, but no one could ignore the blatant fact when it comes to inheritance rights. Seto felt himself crossing his arms and he snorted, “Well I’m sorry to disappoint, but if you were the heiress, then I am already the head,” Seto was stating a simple truth, “Therefore I’ll do the firing, Little Lady”.

Despite how strong this girl symbolizes a Kaiba bloodline; from her colorings, to her glare, to the nose; Seto couldn’t shake off how the trembling tiny lips and pointy chin reminded him of something – someone. Her whole chubby face scrunched up and the light tan of her skin grew darker as she was on her way to a full blown wail.

Before the ugly screech came though, she took one last move to nurse her pride. And she deemed it the most ladylike and vicious to throw her sippy cup to the Christian Louboutin shoes of one Seto Kaiba. Seto looked down distastefully on how the pink liquid drenched the leathering of his brand new Oxford Shoes. Despite knowing the shoes was his new favorite, he felt no anger curling in his stomach. There was a bit of annoyance, but there was also regret.

The high pitched scream that followed was awful. The balloon flew to the ornate ceiling of the white themed kitchen and the hurried steps that were coming closer warned Seto that he would receive the brunt of this.

“SETO!”

And he was right. Seto was unsure how he knew, but sipped his champagne anyways as he prepared for the scolding. “Hnn,” he scowled.

The girl was now letting another hurling scream, as though Seto had done the worst known to mankind, and proceeded to waddle toward her savior while hiccupping. Seto sent the now reunited duo a sideway glance and found Yami, dressed to the nine in a neat dark blue tux, holding the girl in his arms. Something was a bit different about Yami though. Seto was unsure if it was the way he naturally handled a child, which Seto had never witnessed before, or if it was something else; but Yami looked somewhat more mature and more sure of himself.

“What has he done Sunshine?” Yami cooed while the girl sunk her head to his chest. Of course he would use the baby voice when talking to her, Seto grimaced as he went to the kitchen island and put down his champagne flute.

“I’ve done nothing,” he told the whole room. Yami was rocking the girl in his hold. He gave Seto a warning glare from behind the short brown hair decorated with red floral bandana that matched the red dress. Seto rolled his eyes and poured himself another one from the champagne bottle, “Except telling the truth”.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake Seto! She’s only two,” Yami grumbled, “You even made Jo nervous!”  
Seto craned his neck and saw the very tiny toddler boy, who looked like he was struggling to find balance on his two feet, standing in the hallway right by the kitchen door. He had one hand on the wall to keep himself straight, tongue was drooping out of his slack mouth and a huge drop of drool was threatening to stain his mini bow tie from his fat chin. This one was definitely a Mutou; the hair was a huge giveaway despite lacking its vibrant red color compared to the older Mutou Seto knew so well.

It was then Seto noticed the baby’s eyes were directed at him. He didn’t know The Mutou’s had someone with such blue eye color. They were unlike Seto’s though; they were closer to turquoise. They were glassy; really glassy; like someone was about to cry.

A soft sob shook the boy’s form as the corner of his lips dropped dramatically. “Oh, it’s okay! It’s okay, Jo! Uncle Seto isn’t mad at you!” Yami tried to cheer the boy up as he turned halfway to check on the tiny guy by the door. Jo gave another sob. Yami clucked his tongue, “I don’t know where the kid’s parents are”.

It was then that Jo’s chubby legs finally gave up and he fell on his bum. His whole face turned red in a complete reenactment of the sight Seto had just witnessed minutes before. The cry then came, though it’s less angry and dramatic compared to the girl.

“Aww, Jo,” Yami sighed, but glared at Seto, “You’ve got lots to makeup for!”

Seto felt himself rolling his eyes, especially when a woman in a red dress (Gardner?) hurriedly grabbed Jo from the hallway. Yami was busy paying all of his attention to the little girl in his arms. He was now swinging her up and down in his arms as she started to laugh. Whatever hurdle she was facing before left forgotten.

“He’s a meanny!” The girl complained. Seto wondered what gave her the right to complain on him to his boyfriend. He didn’t even know how she knew Yami in the first place.

“I know Sweetheart, but I’m sure he’ll apologize,” Yami said. It was then that the two turned their heads at Seto and Seto couldn’t believe his eyes. Because it was when their faces were next to each other that Seto could finally see the similarity between the two. And he had then discovered whom her lips and jawline were similar to.

“Right?” Yami’s voice took Seto’s attention to his face, “Daddy?”

* * *

  
Seto opened his eyes to find himself in his bed, shirtless as usual and with his heart thumping wildly. He was glaring to the ceiling, a hand roaming wildly on the bed sheet to hunt for his phone. What time was it? He had a digital alarm clock on the nightstand, but nowadays no one bothered looking at that waste of a machine.

When he found his phone, it was vibrating angrily. Or maybe it was ringing loud, but Seto was too much of a sleepy teen to notice. Yami’s picture greeted him from the screen. It was a picture Seto took from his socials; with Yami in his usual hipster getup (leather jacket, ripped jeans, graphic tee) and a brick wall background. A year ago, Seto wouldn’t have someone with this as their profile picture in his contact. But this one was the top of the list in his recent calls; so who was he to say?

The hilariously handsome teen (to Seto, at least) was attempting a video call. Seto was barely dressed and proper. Should he answer?

Yes.

Yami’s face was close to the camera. It took a moment for him to realize what Seto was doing… or not doing. “Why are you not up at this hour, Sleepyhead?” Was Yami’s first comment.

Seto noted that Yami was already prepared for school – in his edgy black shirt and a pair of their school’s bottoms. He was sitting on his mountain bike with a fist under his jaw.

There was something about this bad boy appearance that appeals to Seto. The brunet tousled his own hair in a rare sense of impropriety. “Isn’t school on full free period today? We’re not even expected to be there until 11,” It was the day before the school festival and the whole school would be busy making last preparations today. He and Yami were part of the steering committee. While they were expected to help around as they supervise, no one would make a fuss even if they didn’t. It’s a privilege of being in the higher up of the Student Council.

And has it been made clear that everyone somehow accepted Seto as a part of that clique even though he’s practically a newbie in the council? That part was left unsaid; but that’s what you get when you’re a Kaiba.

Yami chuckled briefly. He then shifted so he was leaning forward to the front wheel with his two arms folded on the handlebar. The way he was looking at Seto through the screen was gentle and adoring, as though he was appreciating the view. “Go get ready, I’m picking you up,” stated the teen with the tricolored hair.

Seto clucked his tongue and scratched his head again. He didn’t care if he looked like a mess in front of Yami right now. “Alright, how long will it take for you to be here?”

“Actually,” Yami was turning his head away, “I’m already outside your house”.

“What!?” Seto lurched from the bed to a sitting position. He noted that the street behind Yami was indeed the familiar sight of his neighborhood. “Fuck, why did you -,” Seto clucked his tongue and threw his phone to the mattress carelessly as he got up from bed, “I’ll get ready”.

“Don’t forget it’s no uniform day,” Seto heard Yami say. Basically they were allowed to wear whatever top they wanted but they were still expected to wear the school uniform bottoms and a pair of shoes.

Seto replied with a grunt, not even caring if Yami was listening as he went to his bathroom. Yami had told him time and time again that he was rather inflexible when it comes to being forced to hurry up and improvise his schedule. Truthfully, he was a bit salty that Yami appeared out of nowhere without telling him beforehand. But usually he’d get over it after a nice wash.

Seto noticed that Yami had ended the call after he returned from the bathroom. The brunet proceeded to his walk in closet and browsed through his shirt. What to wear with his school uniform trousers today? His hand was making a move toward his white t-shirt. But then his eyes paused at the black graphic tee hung next to it.

Would Seto opted for another style so he could match Yami in this particular day?

The answer is yes.

He grabbed the shirt and laid it on his chest as he checked himself in the mirror. He decided the design was edgy enough for Yami’s taste. He changed to just that. In ten minutes, Seto Kaiba was already downstairs.

“I thought you wont be going to school until later,” was the first thing Amy said to him when he arrived on the breakfast table in the kitchen. A western styled breakfast was prepared on the round shaped table along with a couple options for beverages from freshly squeezed orange juice to tea. Seto didn’t take a sit. Instead he stopped by a chair and looked around the room.

“Where’s my coffee?”

Nagumo, who was by the kitchen island, and Tanaka, who sat next to Amy, both avoided his stare. Amy was the one to answer; “You doctor said to cut down on the caffeine”.

You could hear the building annoyance in the way the Kaiba heir held his breath as though to hold himself from cursing out loud. Then he proceeded to angrily ask for his lunch box.

“Would you like me to reheat it for you, Young Master?” Nagumo asked.

“No, just give it to me,” Seto answered curtly. He took the lunch box from Nagumo and put it inside his briefcase hurriedly. Then he took a toast from the serving platter and left the room.

Amy gaped and lowered her KC tab. “Wait, you’re leaving now?”

There’s a muffled , ‘Hnn’ heard from the foyer. “What about breakfast?” She asked again from the breakfast table.

“I’ll get something from the cafeteria”.

“What about your ride?”

“Yami’s already outside”. And with that, the front door was slammed shut. Amy Dunn and Isono Tanaka exchanged looks.

“He’s acting like…,” she started slowly, “Like one of those schoolboys in televisions”. Running late with a toast in hand, backpack hung by a shoulder, not willing to answer questions, and an attitude to boot.

Tanaka nodded slowly, “Wearing that kind of shirt too”.

“You noticed?” Amy leaned back to her chair in wonder.

“You know he kinda dressed like the older Mutou,” Nagumo added.

“Aaaah, I see,” Amy nodded slightly. She then put a fist under her chin. “Something from the cafeteria huh?” She smiled, “That’s a rarity right there”.

Seto Kaiba had finally acted like a teen.

* * *

  
Cranky. That’s how Yami described Seto this morning. And that word came out right after he denied Seto’s request to get their morning dose of caffeine from a nearby café or the closest vending machine.

“Didn’t your doctor tell you not to?” was Yami’s stern reminder before he took the two of them to school on his bike. They both ended up in Domino High’s Cafeteria where Seto sat alone at one of the long tables as he waited for Yami to fetch him ‘treats he wouldn’t be able to resist’.

“Here!” Yami arrived on the bench across from him right then before putting a small disposable paper bowl filled with four round shaped fried treats.

“What’s this?”

Yami lowered himself onto the bench, “It’s korokke”.

“I know what they are,” Seto grouched. He just wondered why Yami would buy him something so oily in the morning. Yami chuckled and took one from the container.

“Try them first,” he said.

Kaiba huffed but took one. He was hungry and the toast didn’t help him any.

It was still hot. “Use the paper towel,” Yami extended a piece toward Seto. Seto now held the korokke using the paper towel. He took a bite; and, as korokke was usually still steaming hot on the inside even though the outside was lukewarm, stopped halfway. But the guy stared at it in confusion as though trying to figure something out.

“Yami! Kaiba!”

Yami turned around. Ms. President could be seen waving toward them from the cafeteria entrance and Dan was right behind her. “Yo! Sit with us!” The tricolor haired teen replied.

The two third year students accepted the invitation and instantly got into an engaging conversation with Yami. “Oh my Gosh, Yami, did you know Class 11-5 was copying your idea from last year? They’re copying word by word gorl!” Dan exclaimed dramatically, body rocking as he jumped slightly on his seat.

“Joey’s behind that! He was asking me all the time if I would suggest the same idea to my class this year for our stall. Next thing I know his class built a drink stall, I mean what the hell!!?” Yami replied with full vigor.

“Drink stall? Wasn’t that the first year’s stall that scored the first place last year?” Ms. President looked between the two conversing boys. They both nodded.

“Yeah, that was my class and I planned the whole thing for it,” Yami crossed his hands and scowled. The stall that gained the most profit would earn a reward from the school; and it was a simple yet brilliant idea to sell a variety of slushies and iced drinks while the other stalls were too busy selling offering something new and unique to the crowd. Then again, this was Yami Mutou. He always ended up having the best idea for everything.  
“So what is your class’ plan for this year?”

Yami looked thoughtful, “A tempura and yakitori stall. But we also have a brilliant idea for beverage”.

And while Yami was busy explaining his class’ business plan, Kaiba was finally taking another bite of his korokke. This korokke was different. Rather than the typical filling, this one was filled with apple and spice like a dessert. It reminded Seto of apple pie; and it was delicious.

“This is brilliant,” he said with a full mouth. Everyone in the table stopped conversing to look at him.

“You mean you never had these? These are like our school’s pride and joy,” Ms. President said jokingly. Dan laughed beside her.

“Mr. Kaiba has finally had a taste of Domino High’s hidden treasure. Listen, these goodies are the reason why people even bothered going to Domino High, Miss Thing. Our korokke is more of mascot to this high school than the real mascot. Like my mom- ugh, don’t even start with her – nowadays she couldn’t even remember if our mascot Dodo-chan was a bunny or a kangaroo, one day she even wondered if it was a Dodo bird – because of the name obviously – BUT she remembers the korokke, HONNAY. She remembers them so well. THAT’S how historical these are,” Dan pointed earnestly. At this point Seto had taken a second serving and was surprised yet again. This time it wasn’t apple; it’s curry flavored.

“Curry and corn, those two are it,” Ms. President pointed promptly.

“What the hell, babe? No ma’am! No one likes the corn one. If you want to try these korokkes, you should get the curry one and cream & basil,” Dan insisted.

“What about apple? You’re forgetting the apple ones. That’s definitely the best one, and of course curry,” Yami added. The three continued arguing but Seto couldn’t have cared less. He eyed the now empty container (Yami finished the other two) and was hoping he could get another one now.

“Oh, he’s in love now. You know what? I’ll treat you,” Ms. President got up from her seat and winked, “Because I’m a nice upperclassman”.

Seto’s eyes went straight to her. Flatly, he asked, “Really?"

“Sure! Decide whichever variant you want There are eight of them”.

He was putting his thought into this like a true Kaiba. Ms. President chuckled. “Oh, don’t be too serious! I’ll go get the cafeteria lady to make a fresh batch”.

The School President left their table. Halfway to her destination, Seto Kaiba had finally gathered himself and turned around in his seat to call to the older girl. “Miss Pres, get me one of each variants!” He demanded so with such casualness as though the korokke didn’t cost slightly above the average price of a typical highschooler’s snack.

“Ooh, Seto, ask her to get me another one for the apple and curry,” Yami half whispered.

“And get an extra one for each apple and curry! So that makes it ten,” Seto Kaiba turned back to his normal position. Then, as though he almost forgot, he added a short, “Thanks”.

Dan’s laughter exploded right then as Ms. President’s still posture slumped visibly after the hoard of request. She proceeded to do her bid of a ‘Good Upperclassman’ while the boys continued to talk about the festival’s preparation.

“Heard the art club is preparing a good one for the exhibition,” Dan started.

“I know! Yugi has been pulling all-nighters for this one. He’s very excited for it and they’re confident they could win this time,” Yami replied.

“Oh but it’s more than that gurl. They were keeping this project hidden from us until the big day. I was shook how much I’m looking forward to this because before your brother joined, the art club was going to the apocalypse Miss Thing. They were like non-existent – unheard of! And this year suddenly they’ve been winning competitions after competitions –“

“Yeah, but that’s the problem. Yugi’s been too holed up in this and he’s only a first year. Is that normal? For the seniors to let him do all the work?” Yami disrupted with a rather annoyed face, “I mean, the art club should really take it slow. Yugi hasn’t been sleeping”.

“Oh my God, did you hear what you just said?” Dan gawked, “Honey, there he is having the time of his life and you are here complaining!! What are you, Miss Thing? His mom? Good Lord”.

Yami frowned, “At least get my gender right and call me Dad, Dan. Geez”.

Seto stopped fiddling with the empty korokke container and took a good kook at his lover. It wasn’t surprising that Yami wouldn’t deny being dubbed Yugi’s parent. However, his sentence did tug at Seto’s memory if a recent dream he had. And it affected him like no other that Yami’s last words was repeated over and over again in his head like a broken record.

_“Get my gender right and call me Dad, Dan”._

_“…call me Dad, Dan”._

_“…call me Dad…”_

Then came the picture of an older Yami Mutou holding a little girl with the face of Seto Kaiba – however impossible that was in the present time. The two of them turned to see Seto in the eye and said;

_“Right, Daddy?”_

* * *

  
The four of them had a short briefing in the cafeteria while devouring the freshly fried korokke then proceeded to scour the school to monitor the festival preparation. Ms. Secretary was said to be welcoming other schools and the local town’s representation to brief them on the five days event. Seto had to say Domino High has a distinctive tradition when it comes to festivals. Normally they would held the annual spring festival or sport festival, but every three years they would skip the spring festival and held a bigger festival which involves the whole town and the neighboring schools.

Officially the event was called Domino Cup; but most local towners called it ‘The Festival’.

It was probably one of the biggest event in Domino. Everyone in town basically graduated from the same school. It was basically everyone’ second home once and one of the town’s cultural center. No wonder the festival was anticipated and celebrated by everyone.

The four of them took a short tour into the school building to check the classrooms. The second year’s and the third year’s classroom were being prepared for an attraction type exhibition contest open for public and some of the contestants’ were already preparing inside each rooms. The first year’s class rooms would be used for display type exhibitions contest, such as art and photography. Some art pieces were already displayed; Domino High’s own art club had yet to bring their project in though.

Once outside they split ways. Dan and Ms. President went to check on the performance stage being set up by their equipment team. They would also look over the preparation for sport competitions’ venue. Yami and Seto went to check the stalls preparation for the bazaar.

Yami actually kicked the banner of the drink stall managed by Wheeler’s class. The ruckus that followed after was almost hilarious, if not for the fact that it was Seto’s man over there in the middle of it and he had to drag him out of there. And after all of that, Yami had the confidence to smile happily and said, “We have such a healthy competition here in Domino High”.

Seto snorted. Honestly none of these bunch would win against Nagumo’s family restaurant stall that stood right in the corner. Seto was planning to try it out tomorrow after the festival opening. The cook’s family is the local culinary enterprise after all.

His own class, Class 11-1, wasn’t as lively in their icy treat stall. They even seemed surprised when Seto arrived to take a look. “We’re not as grand as most of the other classes, but well, this is what we came up with,” The class rep said to Seto as four other classmates were setting up the stall. “Everyone was less excited about it without most of our best team players around. You know, like Tea or Yura”.

Understandably, each classrooms would usually have a couple of instigators who could get the rest of the class to follow along. The lack of their presence would lower everyone’s morals. Sad to say that Tea was put in charge of the stage performance (which would last for the whole five days of the festival) and Yura was the head supervisor for the children activity center and playground.

As for Seto, he barely reckoned his class would also make a stall. All class was obligated to do so actually.

The tall teen made a brief note of his class’ stall and noticed that despite how utilized they are with the right tools, they were lacking in decoration and other small details.

“Thankfully someone in our class grew up in a family that owns an ice cream business so we could get our hands on some of these equipment. But yeah, we don’t have a menu board prepared and I don’t think it’s a good idea to copy their family’s menu. We know what we’re preparing, but we don’t think we could get a new banner and all of that prepared by tomorrow,” the class rep continued while they stared as the poorly made banner. It was obviously borrowed from another ice cream shoo as the menu was covered with paper notes to replace the list of the menu.

“I don’t think it’s a completely bad idea,” Seto started.

“Hm? You think so?” The class rep perked up and so did some of the students who worked behind their stall. It was rare for them to see nor hear Seto Kaiba paying attention to what they were doing. While most of the volunteers involved directly with the festival had seen this part of Kaiba often (and was happy to say that they were now confident to converse with the Kaiba Heir); the rest of Domino High still think of Seto as an unapproachable figure.

“We still need some fixing. Let us evaluate the menu,” Kaiba stepped closer into the small. By then, everyone in that stall was paying attention to Seto Kaiba. This was it, their class could finally get something done with a Kaiba around. He could give them the confidence they were lacking.

The menu mainly consisted of frozen treats that would later be covered with melted chocolate. Seto thought the idea was simple enough to attract those who would want to try out some foods without the burden of getting to full afterwards. And this would also attracts children. The fact that most food stalls in the festival would be selling savory treats became a plus for them too. The other stall that would be their main competitor would be Wheeler’s, because they are also selling cool and sweet.

They needed to up the game, Seto thought. Wheeler’s class was in their most confidence because they were using Yami Mutou’s idea; the one that earned the first place spot last year. It wasn’t a matter about whose idea was better of course, it’s a matter of team’s moral and how that could lead to better performance.

“This. This menu, have you heard of that ice cream treat in Singapore where this type of ice cream is served with bread? Like a sandwich?” Seto pointed at a particular menu in the poorly printed paper.

“Ooh, I know that! I’ve tried that!” one of them said in excitement, “Should we add that to the menu Kaiba? But we don’t know what it’s called”.

“You can call it whatever, but add Singapore to it to make it interesting. Serving it with a bread would make it seem new; so we could attract more customers,” Seto started. With that short comment, suddenly everyone was excited to chime in and voice out their ideas; from another type of menu they could make from the ingredients they already have and if they could options of toppings. The next thing they knew, they were already discussing what else they should buy to facilitate these ideas.

“I can buy the cups and spoons!” Said someone.

“Then I’ll buy the extra toppings and, oh what about printing?”

Kaiba thought about it, “You guys take care of the rest, I can get the prints done by tomorrow,” Amy could get it done by night.

Kaiba’s offer seemed to lit everyone’s spirit. He even told his classmates the other stall’s plan for costumes and uniform for their stall (a knowledge he earned as a festival committee member) and his class proceeded to plan a simple uniform for tomorrow. They didn’t have anything prepared previously; so they settled on wearing bright red t-shirts, jeans, and white sneakers. The two girls who were present planned to wear pigtails using red ribbons.

The excitement was now there. Even then there were still some doubts left.

“Kaiba, do you think we can do this with only the five of us? Everyone else has flunked out,” one of them asked. Kaiba snorted.

“Excellent. The less people you’ll divide the profit with,” He said flatly before going, leaving his classmates laughing merrily as they prepared their stall with more optimism. It only took him a couple of steps before he met Yami eye to eye. The guy was practically starting at him blankly; as though in wonder.

Yami suddenly broke into a smile. “Hey, come on, I’ve got something to show you”.

Yami turned around and walked ahead. He was twirling a key in his finger. Seto had no idea where the key would led them to, but he followed the teen anyway.

They crossed the busy schoolyard chatting lightly about what they see so far in the festival preparation. Yami seemed involved with his class bazaar stall despite his own tight schedule. Seto, however, admitted that his class was slightly struggling with it.

“Didn’t seem so to me,” Yami commented, “Weren’t you guys just discussing excitedly over there in your stall?”

So he saw that, Seto thought. “We pulled up a couple of last minute ideas to make things better”.

“I see,” Yami paused, “It’s still a. bit new to me that you’re now very popular with everyone. Back then no one would dare approach you let alone talk to you”.

As if on cue, two boys from the equipment team waked by them. “Yo, Yami! Kaiba!” They called out casually. It seemed that only a month ago they would only call Yami’s name and gave Seto an awkward nod.

Seto admitted his involvement with the council and in the festival help everyone to know him better. It was different to what he’s used to. Voluntary student organization such as this would require more people skill than it would hard skill. Back then Seto managed his people in the company easily; reward those who did their work well, and give those who did an unsatisfying work. In the Student Council, you should expect flexible ethics and to inspire rather than to punish. It was something Yami reminded him time and time again. And despite protesting against it and insisting such norms should be changed, Seto had to say he understood the merit now.  
So here he was, somewhat learning to be a team player in a team made out of inexperienced highschoolers. It wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. In fact he enjoyed it.

“Jealous?” He asked Yami suddenly as they passed a couple more people who merrily greeted them. Yami led him into the parking lot.

“A little,” Yami confessed as he sat on top of his bike. He turned to Seto and smiled wistfully. Seto’s heart skipped a beat at the smile.

“Hey, take this,” Yami said whilst taking a couple of his bracelets off his wrist. He pulled Seto’s hand and put it on him. “There,” Yami gazed appreciatively, “Now your look is complete”.

They both rode the bike out of the school ground. Along the way, Seto couldn’t help the happiness creeping out on him from getting noticed by the boy he had wanted to impress.

* * *

  
“A puppy?”

“Yes. Tea just adopted one last month and she wasn’t sure if she replaced her water this morning before school. Tea would be busy with the stage preparation so she asked me come over to her house and check on her”.

“How about her parents? Wouldn’t they have taken care of the puppy?”

“They’re out of town”.

They both stopped in from of a house in one of the densely populated residential area in Domino. Yami went into the lot like he was familiar with the area. Gardner’s family name was written by the entrance and Seto stood near it as he saw Yami using the key he obtained to open the door.

Seto went behind Yami after the door was unlocked. They both lingered by the door as Yami peeked inside. “Excuse my intrusion,” Yami said politely despite knowing no one was present. A yelp like bark could be heard in the hallway and Yami stopped in his track.

“Pocky-chan?”

Another excited bark was heard; then a small puppy appeared from behind the stairs. The pup looked so happy to see Yami that it wagged its tail excitedly and started running in circle before running to Yami’s legs.

“D’awwwww,” Yami bent down to pick the small brown pup onto his arms, “It’s been a while Sunshine. Did you miss Daddy?”

Seto, who was in the middle of taking off his shoes, perked up at the mention of ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Daddy’. The two words brought him to the scene of an older Yami holding a little girl that proudly claimed to be a Kaiba heiress; and Seto’s boyfriend called her exactly that;

‘ _Sunshine_ ’.

“Seto?”

Seto uncharacteristically looked startled. The teen was practically gawking at his lover and the puppy in his hold. It didn’t help that the dog was brown and fluffy – just like her hair was.

“… Pocky?” Seto said instead. Actually that was the only thing his brain seemed to catch on in the middle of its downfall to stupid land. Seto needed to say something fast to save face from looking utterly dumbfounded in front of the guy he likes.

Yami gave the puppy a look and smiled, “Yea, after the snack. I named her that. No one’s surprised really, I mean look at her! She looks like a pocky!”

She kind of did, with some parts of her body from the tail colored in light brown and the rest going to her head colored in deep chocolatey brown. But this realization brought Seto to another kind of horror. “What about a child? Would you name her after food?”

“Hm?” This time Yami was the one looking confused as he stared at Seto. And Seto then realized that he had just dubbed the child in his question ‘her’ as thought the child has to be a girl and he already had a person in mind. “Ummm no? Of course not! That’s just silly”.

Seto found himself letting out a huge whiff of held breath as Yami put the dog down and started taking off his own shoes. Deep in the taller teen’s mind, he was somehow glad there wouldn’t be a Kaiba heiress named after a canned sardine or something in the near future.

Not that he was expecting any kind of future with Yami yet…

Yami looked back teasingly at his boyfriend, “What? You want to have a baby with me Seto Kaiba?”

Seto hissed. Yami had caught him offguard in his rare moments there. “I’m just worried you really do end up getting pregnant after that crazy blowjob from back then”.

Yami briskly turned his head to him, and because of how abrupt it was, Seto returned the look with the same wide-eyed stare. In the awkward three second silence, Seto saw how the color of Yami’s cheeks deepen slowly. The sight made Seto feel shy too somehow; despite how strange the feeling was to someone so arrogant.

The rest of the time they spent in The Gardner’s felt awkward thereafter. The tension stopped only after they returned to school and everyone started asking for their attention. Seto remembered meeting Yami’s eyes as they parted ways; they both flushed.

* * *

  
It was only a blowjob. It’s not like Seto had never done something nastier than that. And here he was, shifting awkwardly after mentioning it one time to Yami; and that was more than an hour ago.

Yami still cared enough to pick him up from the schoolyard for lunch though. He was doing his best to keep the conversation away from their shared awkward moment just before – and so far the effort was paying.

They were then at the rooftop, sitting crosslegged and facing one another. Their lunchboxes were laid on the floor between them; Yami’s were already a quarter way consumed; Seto’s was neatly uncovered, yet untouched.

“Blue eyes, eat your food,” Yami reprimanded softly with his mouth half full. Seto was busy on his mobile; texting.

“The equipment team was one man’s short because your friend decides not to show up on this important day,” Seto mumbled, slightly grouchy. He hated it when someone was being uncooperative on the busiest day. Seto Kaiba hates excuses, and he was known to be harsh when it comes to excuses.

“What? Tristan?” Yami mentioned the guy’s name, “He’s sick”.

“That’s what they all say,” Seto grouched once again. But again, you were not expected to get mad in this situation because everyone was doing this voluntarily. If this was Kaiba Corp, Seto was sure to give the guy a huge penalty.

“Hey, he’s really sick!” Yami fended, “He has been ever since that day he went to the third year’s floor with Yugi. Yugi said the guy went to this huge breakdown. T has always been weak to stress”.

“Stress? Arent we all? Everyone’s dead tired too,” Seto rebutted.

“Look, no. I know Tristan, kay? He wasn’t sick because of the festival. This is something else. I don’t know, the last time I saw him getting ill this way was when…,” Yami paused as he seemed to remember something, but quickly shook his head, “Anyhow, he might’ve gotten into some trouble with a third year or something that day and that might be affecting his health”.

Seto clucked his tongue and rolled his eyes. He didn’t buy the excuse one bit, but opted not to argue with his boyfriend. God knows how loyal Yami was with his cronies.

The young Kaiba resumed to text. He needed to tell the equipment team how to proceed without Taylor and of course he needed to get some instructions over to Amy for his class’ shop.

“Set, eat,” Yami reminded once again. Seto answered with a reluctant ‘Hn’ but kept on texting. “Your doctor told you to eat on time,” Yami continued. This time Seto didn’t bother replying. Amy must’ve sneaked some info to Yami for the guy to even know Kaiba had just visited the doctor.

The next moment, Seto suddenly felt something poking at his mouth. When he took a look, he noticed that Yani was trying ti feed him. “Eat,” the guy repeated as he shoved the food, the bite sized grilled fish fillet Nagumo prepared for Seto, to Seto’s mouth. Seto scowled at the child-like treatment, but opened his mouth anyway and ate it without any protest. Yami repeatedly feed him as he texted. Some tine later, he noticed Yami was feeding him with something he knew was not from his lunchbox. So he pulled his eyes off of his phone and checked on the luncboxes between them.

Indeed, Yami had mixed in some food from his own less exquisite, less sophisticated lunchbox. Still, Seto noted with appreciation that Yami’s lunch was better than most lunchbox the boys in Seto’s class usually brought with them. And he knew Yami cooks. So with a sense of self-righteousness, because Yami was his boyfriend anyway, Seto Kaiba made his demands.

“I want the eggroll”.

Yami looked down to his lunchbox, “This one?” He pointed with his chopsticks.

“No, that one – the fat one”.

“Don’t call my eggroll fat,” Yami frowned, but gave Seto the biggest piece anyway. Seto then was fed another couole of bite before he almost choked.

“Did you just give me carrots?” The Kaiba asked rudely. Yami scowled yet again.

“Yea, why?” The shorter teen asked despite not needing the answer after seeing his lover making a face while swallowing the content of his mouth. “You never protested when Nagumo gave you some carrots!”

“He never add carrots to my food. Never,” Seto said pointblank with a glare, but resumed texting and chomping at whatever Yami gave him, even the carrots. In no time at all, Seto’s lunchbox was empty. Yami was now getting him to drink.

“Come on Set,” the shorter teen was now pushing Seto’s bottle so Seto would take it. Seto was busy replying to his texts. When he did take the bottle, it wasn’t without a soft glare at Yami. “Alright alright, _Daddy”._

It was said with such a normal tone that anyone would miss it. But Yami paused whatever he was doing to stare. And Seto, out of consciousness, returned the stare with a mirrored expression. He didn’t know why he said that. He figured he would make fun of Yami a little; but realized too late that the context was a bit of a miss.

Yami diverted his eyes to his lunchbox and started slowly tidying it up. “Umm… okay,” he muttered awkwardly. Seto coughed as a reply.

“I mean… I don’t mind”.

Seto squinted and asked, “What?”

“You calling me that,” Yami was now putting a fist under his jaw as he gazed at Seto curiously, “It’s kind of cute”.

Seto rose his eyebrows in disbelief, but quickly snorted. Not that he minded Yami when he was acting flirty. Still Seto only called Yami that because Yami called him Daddy first… in a dream.

Seto ended up saying, “We both know between the two of us I’d be the daddy, Poundcake”.

“I’m older though,” Yami quickly answered. Seto poked his head out from behind his phone.

“When’s your birthday?”

“July”.

Seto blinked. He missed Yami’s birthday. Granted, they hadn’t dated around that time. “And when is my birthday?” Seto needed to check for himself if Yami really knew.

“In four days,” Yami answered without pausing. Seto cursed under his breath. Of course Yami would do his research and note Seto’s birthday.

Seto hummed. Looking at Yami, he was convinced the boy had something prepared. And he had put some thoughts into it; he wouldn’t look so confident otherwise.

Seto shrugged and return to his phone. It wasn’t like Yami would get him that G wagon Seto wanted. That one was something Seto ‘s expecting from his family members. However, considering his circumstances this year, he wasn’t sure if he’ll get anything from the family. Usually he would be called by Grandma to visit her in New Zealand. They would hold a major family dinner there and everyone would have a gift prepared for the future head of the family. Fifteen, however, was a special number in the Kaiba Household, and they held a specially big celebration for Seto’s fifteenth birthday two years ago.

This year Seto doubted anyone in the family would try to contact him. Well except for Mokuba obviously. Seto didn’t have much expectation for his seventeenth birthday. Yami might have, but Seto wouldn’t expect him to throw Seto a surprise like his family would.

“What kind of present do you want?” There it was, the typical question coming from your lover. Seto hummed absently and returned to his mobile. What would he ask from Yami? He couldn’t ask for a G wagon for sure.

But then something poke the back of Seto’s mind and he lowered his phone to take a good look at Yami. Yami still had a hand propping his face as his torso leaned slightly to the side as he waited for Seto’s answer. Seto was convinced Yami already had something for him. This question wouldn’t change whatever it was he had prepared for Seto – no, Yami was looking for an additional touch.

It’s just like Yami to pay extra attention to someone’s birthday. It was cute, really. But was he prepared for the kinds of answer Seto could give for his question?

After observing Yami for a while, Seto said, “What if I say I want sex?”

Yami was the one to cut their eye-lock short as he looked down to his fingers. “I kind of knew you’re going to say that,” Yami mumbled, “But I didn’t know what to expect. This is my first relationship so… I’m not sure if you want to do that kind of stuff”.

Seto found his own eyes roaming up and down Yami’s form. Who wouldn’t want to be intimate with Yami? The sight of him alone was enough to trigger some thoughts in Seto’s mind. He had imagine that crazy hair splayed on his pillow many times; messy and sweaty. “I kind of do,” Seto admitted coolly. Its not like he’s been hiding his desires from its current subject.

Yami diverted his gaze once again. It seemed that he was slightly bothered by Seto’s attention. “I see,” the shorter teen hummed as he shifted to hug his knees, “How does that go between guys? Do you have an idea?”  
Seto’s brows met. He thought Yami was the gay one between the two of them (Arguably, Seto’s bisexual). The shorter teen had confessed once he had only ever crushed on guys so far. “You never looked for gay porn?”  
Yami frowned and sunk his chin behind folded arms. “No. I’ve only seen straight porn”.

“How does that even work when you’re gay?”

“Straight or not, it’s sex. You couldn’t help but get bothered when you see two people getting it on,” Yami shrugged and shyly diverted his eyes.

Seto was wondering if Yami was trying to flirt or if he really was clueless, “So you’re telling me you’re gay and have no single idea on analsex”.

Yami’s groaned, “Look Set, if you want to make fun of me –“

“I’m not. We have to talk about this. I’m taking this seriously. You’re dating me; I cant believe the idea not once ever pass your mind”.

“It does! I mean… I think a lot… about you,” Yami flushed, “But I never figured out how – look. I’m getting that there has to be a penetration, correct?”

Seto rolled his eyes, “Duh”.

“Okay so there’s that; so you’ll need something to insert into,” and now Yami was forming a circle using his thumb and forefinger, “But we’re both guys, so where would we put it into”.

Seto sighed. He couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. He traced Yami’s joined fingers to form a full circle, “This will be your ass”.

Yami’s head snapped uo toward Seto. “… what?” But when Seto simply gazed back silently, Yami blinked in disbelief, “Is that even… possible?”

Seto absently caressed the rim of Yami’s joined fingers again, “There are preparations needed. It’ll be a long delicate process and they said it’s a bit painful, but,” and he proceeded to snuck his middle finger between the circle of Yami’s fingers, “It’s also said to be extremely good”.

Yami visibly gulped before his eyes trailed to their hands and whatever gesture they were making. “That sounds uh… messy,” Yami stuttered and ended up taking in a huge whiff of air; still entranced in the manner Seto’s middle finger was now pushing the rim of Yami’s joined finger to create more room in the space between. “Umm,” Yami let go of his held breath, “And you... want to do something like that with me?”

Their eyes met again. Seto took in the sight of his boyfriend; from the dimple in his cheek to the light tan of his skin; and to how he imagined that tan grow deeper when Yami was heated up. If there was anyone Seto wouldn’t mind getting all messy with, it would be Yami. Honestly that boy would look gorgeous all hot and bothered.

“Yes,” it was the most breathless yes Seto ever made. Seto must be eyeing Yami a certain way because Yami was starting to shift awkwardly. “As long as you want to, of course,” Seto added finally.

Yami swallowed loudlh. The moment was perfect. The shorter teen opened his mouth, possibly to express his accord. But of course someone opened the door to the rooftop right at that moment. Coach Morty stood there in the perfect reenactment if that day just weeks ago; in which he dragged the two boys right inti the Principal’s office.

Today, thankfully, they weren’t doing anything; and anyone would be able to detect the relief that flashed through the older man’s expression once he sees the boys weren’t doing anything inappropriate. But then his eyes strayed to the highly suggestive gesture the boy’s hands were making. Alert flickered in his eyes yet again.

“We weren’t doing anything!” Yami quickly snatched his hands off of Seto as he rose his hands up for the coach to see. Seto Kaiba blinked absently before slowly putting his now empty lunchbox back together. Not that it helped. Coach Morty was going paler by the second.

For the rest of the next minute, the three males shared an awkward silence while they eyed each other warily. Thankfully no one was taken to the Principal's office. And despite the tension, both boys pitched in to help the rest of the students who were preparing for the festival. The two boys ended up getting all drenched in sweat yet insisted they should all play a small game of basket ball before going to the ramen shop for a snack.

When trying to pick up the Kaiba heir, Tanaka was happily sent home without his Young Master that day.

* * *

**TBC.**


End file.
